I Will Not Bow
by A'den Neytiri Kad
Summary: Everything is going well in Suna until Fang gets a call from her sister in Konoha. She goes to see what's up, but shortly before leaving, she's captured by PSICOM. How far will her friends go to save her? *Sequel to Music of the Night. Crack pairing*
1. Nightmares Always End Badly Sometimes

I Will Not Bow

**Author's Note**

_We own NOTHING! And just a reminder, Gaara has eyebrows in this one. This is the sequel to "Music of the Night." I would highly recommend reading that first if you want to understand what's going on._

_And even before you start reading, I'm sorry for whatever mistakes there are. My friend wrote a majority of this. We rp'd some of the parts, but most of it is her doing. I'm too lazy to read it a million times to ensure no mistakes._

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><p>*Chapter One. Nightmares Always End Badly…Sometimes.*<p>

"_**Momma? What are ya doin' out here alone?" the young girl asked quietly, her bright cat-like eyes peeking around the door. **_

"_**Nothin', Fang, go back inside," a woman's voice answered, cracking slightly as she spoke.**_

_**The tiny brunette pouted softly when she saw the dried tear tracks on her mom's face. "You've been cryin'…Mommy, what's wrong?" she asked as she walked out of the house, a bright blue sari the only thing keeping her warm in the cool night. The fabric hung off her loosely, trailing on the ground and showing just how big it really was on her. Fang knew she wasn't supposed to wear it until she came of age, but she was curious and a curious Fang is a stubborn Fang. She tried it on, only barely managing to walk with it on without it unraveling.**_

"_**Honey, go put some clothes on! You're goin' to freeze!" the older woman scolded her seven year-old daughter, who only shook her head. The woman sighed and picked the child up, holding her tightly in her arms. Her dark, bouncy curls brushed against the young girl's cheek when she held onto her mother tightly.**_

"_**Why were ya cryin' momma? Did somethin' happen?" the girl inquired against her mother's warm skin. **_

_**The woman closed her bright green eyes and shook her head. "No sweetheart, nothin's wrong…" she lied easily before setting her youngest child down. "Now go back ta bed."**_

"_**No," the stubborn kid said as she clung to her mother's leg. "Tell me wha's wrong."**_

_**The woman paused for a moment before she knelt down in front of her daughter. "Okay, Fang. I'll tell ya, but ya have ta keep it a secret, alrigh'?" The girl nodded her head vigorously, her blue-green eyes wide and innocent as she looked at her mother expectantly. The woman sighed and smiled wistfully at her daughter. "Ya see Fang, Lady Luck blessed me with two of the world's most beautiful little girls and other people don't understand tha'," she stated, lightly touching her daughter's black mark that stained her skin. "This birthmark is special, your sister is special, and so are you. Other people just don't understand tha', they don't understand us…" The woman paused for a second, a war going on behind her eyes. "I…May be leaving for a while, Fang…"**_

"_**What do ya mean?" the girl asked. Even though she was young, she knew when something was wrong. She didn't like the feeling in her stomach and chest, it hurt.**_

"_**It means tha' it's gonna to be a while 'til ya see me again, sweetheart," her mom answered, closing her eyes to keep the tears from falling out. "Once I have a new home for us, I'll send someone ta come get the two of you, they're goin' ta take ya away from 'ere and bring you back to me, okay?" Fang nodded her head, clinging to her mom tightly. "Until then, I need ya ta take care of Vanille, Fang. Ya need ta promise me tha' you'll protect your family no matter wha'. Can ya do tha' for me?" **_

_**The tiny girl nodded her head again, her own tears brimming in her eyes. "Y-Yeah…I promise…"**_

"_**Ya promise wha'?"**_

"_**I promise ya ta protect my family n-no matter wha'…" **_

_**The tall woman gathered her daughter in her arms and kissed her forehead. "Just remember, no matter wha' happens, I love ya both with all my heart." The woman let her daughter go and stood up, "Get ta bed. Tell Vanille tha' I love her when she wakes up… I love ya, Fang." With that she turned and quickly walked away, tears sliding down her cheeks. **_

"_**Momma….MOMMA! PLEASE DON'T GO, I LO-" the girl cried, chasing after her mom. A deafening bang resounded in the air and the girl stopped, her eyes widened as she watched the lone woman freeze. "-ve ya…" she finished in a soft voice. Tears streamed down her face as her mom fell to the ground, blood flowing down her chest.**_

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><p>Fang bolted upright, her hand covering her mouth to keep the scream from tainting the still air. Her chest heaved heavily as she tried to control her own breathing and keep the tears from coming out. It'd been the third time she's woken from a nightmare in the past week, nightmares that she hadn't had in years.<p>

This was the first time that she's dreamed of her mom's death since she was eight.

Closing her eyes, she pulled her hand away from her mouth and stood up quickly. She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked into her bathroom and closed the door with a snap. She turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on her burning skin. Her hands gripped the fixture to support her weight until slowly, her heart began to return to its normal pace and she opened her eyes to stare into her reflection.

As she looked into the mirror her own face morphed before her eyes, her cheek bones becoming a little sharper and her hair grew longer, curling as her eyes turned into an energizing green. She blinked and her action was mirrored back at her, only the face that was staring at her wasn't her own. It seemed that as she grew older the more she began to look like her.

"_No matter what…"_

A light rap on the doorframe pulled the brunette from her thoughts and caused Fang to jump slightly. "Fang?"

The girl took a deep breath. _'Figures Gaara would know something happened, stupid ninja sense,_' Fang thought as she tried to calm down. "Yeah.?" she answered, the breathiness of her voice the only thing hinting at her distress.

When the door opened, Fang still had her eyes trained on the mirror so she barely had time to see Gaara's reflection when his arms wrapped around her waist gently. "What's wrong?" he asked. His usually indifferent tone contained a small note of worry as he looked at her through the mirror, aquamarine eyes reflecting back into hers.

The brunette shook her head, trying to cast her problems away. "Just a...bad dream," she answered him. The young Kazekage sighed softly, nuzzling his girlfriend's head gently. Fang repressed her own sigh. "...I'd ask what you're doing up, but that'd just be stupid. I should be asking why you aren't doing paperwork."

"Finished it. I got a little head start. Now I have some time to myself for once," he answered softly against her hair.

Fang couldn't help but to sigh silently. "God knows how much time you actually get to relax before you have to do something else," she said. _'How true it is. I almost never get to see you except for a few hours at night,'_ she thought a little bitterly to herself. The job of Kazekage often left Gaara in the office for eighteen hours most of the time, which limited their time together.

"That's exactly why I'm standing here with you," Gaara told her, his arms constricting around her comfortingly.

The girl smiled slightly. "And you have no idea how much that means to me."

"I think I do," he kissed her head softly, smiling sadly. _'I know how much it means to me when you go out of your way to see me every night,' _he thought, drifting to the previous nights when Fang had walked into his office after hours to talk to him before he waved her off so that she'd get some sleep. It was a repeated occurrence that happened most every night since they came back to Suna a couple months ago.

Fang furrowed her bow and leaned her head back to look up at him. Her bright turquoise orbs look into his pupil-less sea-foam shaded ones. "...I worry you, don't I?"

"Yes."

The brunette grimaced slightly. "You have a whole village to worry about. I don't need to be added onto the list," she sighed and rested her head back against his shoulder. "I'm fine. It'll pass soon."

"I hope so," the red-head mumbled in return. He could tell something was bothering Fang more than she would admit to, but he knew better than to press the issue.

She turned her head and lightly pressed her lips against her boyfriend's neck. "Really Gaara, I'm fine." The sand nin didn't say a word as watched her and the girl sighed softly at her boyfriend's stare. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No," he gently pulled away and led her back out into her room. Gaara steered her to the bed, coaxing her to lie down.

Fang sighed softly and rested on her side, turning her body so that she could look at her boyfriend, her wavy hair falling into her eyes. The red-headed Shukaku vessel looked out the window. Fang rested her head on her pillow, her eyes flickering over to Gaara every now and then. After a few minutes of silence Gaara turned and walked over to the bed, holding his hand out. "I have something I've been wanting to show you."

The girl blinked and sat up, placing her hands in his. "Should I be worried?" she asked with her eyebrows furrowed lightly in question.

Gaara smiled softly in a reassuring way. "No," He pulled her close, sand swirling around them. He watched Fang wrap her arms around his neck as he teleported them to the roof of the Kazekage building. He lightly wrapped an arm around her waist as he sat on the edge, pulling her down with him. He gazed up at the sky and then he glanced across the village. "It's the best view in Suna."

Fang looked out over the village, the few lights that were still on shining in the darkness. A small smile broke across her lips and she nodded, transfixed as she unwound her arms. "I think I agree with you," she said quietly as she silently observed the sand village.

The kage smiled softly, lost in thought. Softly, Fang's hand lightly ran over his own that was holding her waist lightly and squeezed gently. Gaara intertwined their fingers together, letting a warm smile grace his lips. Fang scooted closer to him and leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. They sat in comfortable silence for what seemed like forever before the brunette closed her eyes and relaxed against her boyfriend. Slowly, she drifted back into her subconscious and away from her troubled thoughts.

Gaara sighed softly as his girlfriend cuddled up close to him, her face buried into his neck lightly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and her breathing deepened and slowed, making it seem like she wasn't even breathing. The nin clenched his jaw and pushed the dark thought from his mind, scooping her up in his arms. He jumped across the rooftops back to their home. He took her back to her bed, laying her down gently. He watched as Fang nuzzled into her pillow, her hand tightly holding onto his shirt.

'_Troublesome…'_ he thought as he attempted half-heartedly to pry his shirt free, but then gave up and lied down next to the sleeping l'Cie. His girlfriend curled up close him, her hair falling into her face as she continued to sleep. Gaara reached over and brushed it away, lightly caressing her soft skin with his fingertips. The contrast of their skin caught his eyes, stark white against golden tan, it was almost comical how they were so different and yet the same. She leaned into his touch lightly, her muscles twitching softly as he touched her skin.

Gaara hummed softly, kissing her forehead and the girl cuddled closer despite the heat, sighing softly in her sleep. The young Kazekage sang quietly, nuzzling her head gently with his eyes unfocused with thought.

He knew that Fang had a troubled past, nearly as bad as his own. It was painfully obvious that that was what her night troubles had been about, even if she denied it. It was just like her to act like nothing was wrong when her inner turmoil began to rear its head, but she always refused to talk.

Gaara held his girlfriend of nearly six months close to him, his lips parting as he let out a deep breath. His lips beginning to move as his voice sang softly, filling the room with music.

"Don't taint this ground with the color of the past.

Are the sounds in bloom with you?

Cause you seem like an orchard of mines.

Just take one step at a time.

And you seem to break like time.

So fragile on the inside..."

Fang relaxed even more, her fingers beginning to loosen their hold on Gaara's shirt.

"La flama riposa. La ombra dispare.

La noce immortale. La voce murmure..."

She had let go of his shirt completely, her hand falling down onto the blankets and the girl rested her head on Gaara's chest. He kissed her head softly, cradling her close as he said the one word he refused to say aloud. "Sleep well, my love."


	2. A Phone Call From Far Away Can Be Hard

*Chapter Two. A Phone Call from Far Away Can be Hard.*

Groaning softly, Fang opened her eyes and frowned when she sees herself on her bed. Her blue green eyes blinked open in the soft light of her room. The curtains that she had put up when she first moved in managed to block the majority of the light, keeping the room dimly lit. The brunette looked up at the ceiling. '_Okay, I remember waking up, going on the roof, and that's about it; which means I fell asleep sometime while we were on the roof,_' she sighed and sat up.

The first thing she noticed was her empty bed, which meant Gaara already left to do Kage business. The thought of that made her frown a little but it quickly turned into a look of confusion when a low beeping sound came from underneath her bed. _'What's that?'_

The beeping continued and the curious teen rolled over, looking below the bed. She lifted the thin dark blue blankets and Fang rolled her eyes. She picked up her cell phone, flipping it open and scanning the screen. "Great, Vanille called," She muttered to herself as she presses the call-back button and placed the phone to her ear.

The phone rang a couple times before her sister picked up. "Fang?" Vanille's voice asked, sounding like she was out of breath.

"Yeah, it's me. Vanille, are you alright?" Fang asked worriedly, noting something in her older sister's voice.

"Of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be alright? I just want to talk to my sister who I haven't seen in almost three months!" Vanille answered back quickly, which made Fang raise an eyebrow.

Silence followed suit for a few seconds before Vanille started talking a million miles a second, barely letting Fang catch the gist of what she was saying. Fang pulled the phone away from her ear and grimaced. _'She's been hanging out with Naruto again.'_ "Whoa, slow down Vanille, I can't understand you!" Fang scolded her sister. _'Who gave her the sugar this early?'_

"Can you come to Konoha?" her sister asked breathlessly. "I need to tell you something and I don't want to do it over the phone."

Fang paused abruptly at her sister's request and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there in a few days. Bye Vanille."

"Bye, Fang! I love you!" the hyper girl said before she hung up.

Fang closed her phone, her eyebrows knitted in worry. _'What's so important that it has to be told face-to-face?' _she shook her head and hoped Gaara wouldn't mind if she left for the neighboring village that day. Because she was going whether he liked it or not, though it would be a whole lot easier if he accepted it…

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><p>Sabaku-no-Gaara was not a weak man, he was feared, he did not let meager things get to him, and he certainly didn't let those things slow him down…<p>

'_If I see one more piece of paper I'm going to kill something,' _the red-head thought darkly. Gaara sighed and leaned back, rubbing his hand against his face. _'Maybe a few minutes break will help a little…'_ He rested against his chair and closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wonder a little. Ever since Fang and he had started dating he had been getting better at controlling his mind. He could now even think of good things and not have to worry about bad memories interrupting them all the time. He smiled to himself and took a deep breath.

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><p>"<em><strong>Alright! I'll give you brats an hour and a half to relax and eat! We'll start again at exactly eleven!" Tsunade yelled to the actors and actresses. It was only their first week of practice and Tsunade already decided that they were in need of weekend practices that went from eight in the afternoon to twelve in the morning. To say that some teens were annoyed would be an understatement. <strong>_

_**Naruto, who was standing beside Gaara, groaned and placed his hand over his stomach. "Kami-samma, I need ramen!" **_

_**Gaara just blinked at his friend, wondering how it was possible one person could eat so much of the same thing and never get tired of it. Then he remembered that it was Naruto and to never put anything past the Kyuubi vessel. He found himself repressing an eye roll as the blonde reached into his bag and pulled out some instant ramen then ran off, stating that he had to find a microwave.**_

_**The Kazekage crossed his arms and glanced around, his eyes catching a movement on the other side of the stage. Fang, Vanille, and Snow were sitting down, all of them looking tired. Snow had already rested his head on the tall brunette's shoulder and closed his eyes while Vanille was yawning.**_

"_**Fang, can I?" the pig-tailed teen asked her younger sister.**_

_**Fang nodded her head and shifted a little as her sister lied down, placing her head in the taller teen's lap and closing her eyes. Gaara watched as the brunette leaned back against the wall and let her eyes close softly. **_

_**She looked so different than she usually did. Instead of her normal aura that seemed to radiate her 'I don't care what the fuck you think about me' attitude it now seemed to calm. He watched as her hands deftly ran through her sister's hair while the teen relaxed in her lap. Before he could stop himself, he began wondering what it felt like to have her fingers in his hair. **_

_**He blinked in shock, even though it didn't register to his face. Where did that come from?**_

_**Fang sighed quietly, letting her usual smirk and irritating attitude drop. She looked so different…**_

_**He continued to watch, not even noticing that he was staring, when Fang re-opened her eyes and looked directly at him. He blinked and she blinked back, both of them now openly staring at each other. Then a soft smile tugged at Fang's lips and she closed her eyes once more.**_

_**His face remained impassive but his mind was reeling. Did she just smile at him? It wasn't that sarcastic one that she usually shot at people, but it seemed …genuine…**_

_**Gaara repressed the urge to shake his head and he looked away, only to glance back at the teen a few seconds later. **_

_**His eyes swept across her face, taking in her appearance. He couldn't deny that she was pretty, maybe even attractive. She had dark, wavy hair that was relatively long and bangs that brushed across her eyes. He didn't know why, but sometimes her eyes unnerved him. They made him feel like she was analyzing everything, including him. **_

_**He had caught her staring at him a few times while at practice, but he couldn't say anything against that seeing that he was staring at her, too. Gaara didn't really know what had gotten into him lately. It seemed that ever since he saved her from Deidara she continuously interrupted his thoughts. He found himself thinking about her, wondering what was going through her mind. **_

_**Gaara also began to notice how she dressed, always in a long sleeved shirt, baggy jeans, and a hoodie. Was she hiding something? Everyday she'd wear that, no matter how hot it was. He also would catch her spacing out, obviously thinking very deeply about something…Like how he was spacing out while thinking about her.**_

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><p>Gaara opened his eyes, blinking. <em>'That's when I realized I liked her...'<em> From that day on he watched as the teen continued to live, he was always watching over her whether she knew it or not. Every night when Fang went for those walks he was there in the trees, making sure nothing happened to her.

It was just dumb luck that they started talking at the party and that he started to answer her questions. Gaara wasn't stupid. He knew that if he ever wanted answers he was going to have to give some first…

It wasn't dumb luck however when during Snow's game that the bottle ended on Fang. He didn't think anyone noticed when barely a wisp of sand guided the bottle to the distracted girl, but after the fact Naruto kept giving him knowing looks…

Well, that may be because he let his lips wander on hers for longer than what was necessary.

A small smile crossed his lips and he shook his head. It still amazed him how much Fang had affected him. Never before had he cared about someone quite so much, so much that he honestly believed she would be the death of him if something happened.

He couldn't begin to explain his rage and sadness he felt when she finally told him her story or when that bastard went after her again. Gaara knew that even though she never said anything, it still haunted her. He could see it when she looked at other teens their age, saw the way she frowned when she noticed their un-marred skin. It hurt, but he also noticed that those scars were slowly healing. The last time he saw them they were barely visible, but, he also knew that those scars weren't just skin-deep.

That was why they've been taking everything slow. All that either of them needed for the time being was someone to talk to and confide in. Sure, they've kissed, but it had never really been more than chaste ones. He didn't want to hurt her; that was the last thing he wanted to do.

A gentle knock at the door pulled Gaara away from his musings and he blinked. He looked up from his desk, standing. He walked quickly over to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by the one girl that he was thinking about.

"Hey," Fang said as she walked in. "You're not busy, are you?"

"I'm Kazekage, Fang. Of course I am," he replied, smiling softly. "What brought you here?"

The brunette walked over to his desk, placing her hands against the wood as she leaned back against it. "I'm leaving for Konoha today," she said simply.

Gaara blinked. _'What?'_ he thought as he looked at her. Fang just stared back, a sense of tenacity in her stance. Most people would think it was arrogance, but he knew that she was really incredibly stubborn and unreasonable at times.

The Kazekage glanced down, noticing her bag that she had carried in with her. "Today?" he mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Fang nodded. "Yeah, Vanille called and said that she has to tell me something. She didn't want to tell me over the phone..." she trailed off, looking up at him.

His stomach was tightening in a knot, a feeling of slight dread washed over him as his inner Gaara began thinking up ways of telling her that she shouldn't go. He was about to voice why she shouldn't when he remembered that it had been months since Fang had seen her family. That and if he said no then she'd still find a way there, especially if it involved Vanille.

He looked back up to see Fang watching him intently. "Alright…" he answered quietly.

Fang's eyes filled with relief as she pushed off of the desk and stepped closer, her arms coming up to wrap around Kazekage. "I'll be back in about a week. If it's longer I'll send a message, okay?"

"Okay," he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her quickly as he kissed her forehead softly, whispering, "Be careful."

She nodded. "I will be. Plus, I'm always careful," she added in a joking tone.

Gaara shook his head softly, releasing her reluctantly. _'Yeah, as careful as Naruto.'_

Fang smiled slightly. "Take care of yourself, Gaara," she said before she grabbed her bag and walked out of his office.

Gaara sighed softly as he watched her leave. When he could no longer see her he closed the door and walked back behind his desk .He narrowed his eyes, shifting through the mounds of paperwork on his desk. _'It never stops growing…'_

"Kazekage-sama?" Baki asked, bowing as he entered the room.

"Yes?" He questioned, not looking up from the piles of papers.

"I have the reports you wanted," the sensei answered, setting the reports on a free space on the crowded desk.

Gaara nodded at his old sensei. "Thank you."

Baki stood in front of him. "It seems they're getting closer, sir."

The Kazekage picked up the report, quickly scanning through it. "So I see..." Gaara lifted his head and looked at the man, an idea formed in his head. "Baki, can I ask a personal favor of you?"

"Of course." He answered, not thinking twice about his answer.

The red head nodded. "Fang plans on leaving for Konoha today. Alone. I want you to shadow her to the border."

Baki blinked. "You want me to follow her to make sure nothing happens to her."

"Correct."

The jounin sighed. "Gaara. As an advisor, I'd say no. But, as your family friend, I will do it. Are you sure she won't be upset?" Baki questioned.

"She will be. She'll just have to live with it." Gaara said rather bluntly, adopting Fang's own attitude when it came to telling what he wanted.

Baki chuckled, shaking his head. "I never thought I'd be around long enough to see you like this." He bowed, opening the door.

"To see what?" Gaara asked, glancing up as the sensei exited his office.

"You actually happy." He closed the door behind him, heading down the long corridor.

Gaara shook his head, flipping the report open again. "I never thought I'd see it either, Baki," he muttered, scanning over the charts.


	3. Fighting the Sand

*Chapter Three. Fighting the Sand.*

Fang sighed in agitation, pulling her shawl tighter to keep the wind from carrying it away. _'Why would someone decide a village in not only a dessert but also a freaking windier than hell place would be adequate for living?' _She shook her head and grumbled under her breath, continuing on her way. She had already been travelling for most of the day; she knew she had to be approaching the border soon.

Unknown to the girl, Baki followed her silently, masking himself with his chakra to mimic the sand. He watched the girl as she walked as swiftly as she could against the wind. Baki shook his head to himself, wondering if he should have warned her about the wind.

Fang sighed deeply, frowning as her eyes scan across the horizon. "This should be interesting..." she muttered to herself as she began walking faster, refusing to let the wind slow her down.

Baki frowned, looking across the desert. _'A storm's coming..._' he thought and picked up his pace, looking anxiously over the horizon.

The girl continued until she was almost running, quickly maneuvering through the sand. Sometimes she wished that Gaara wasn't so busy all the time, but that was one thing that she refused to hold against him. She understood that he had a responsibility, but that doesn't mean she couldn't miss her boyfriend. Fang smiled to herself as she remembered how much he seemed to change since they first met, knowing full well that she's changed for him too. Her pace slowed slightly when she saw the sandy terrain begin to change into a forest up ahead of her.

Baki sighed softly, seeing the line of trees at the border.

Fang blinked and glanced over her shoulder, stopping. She didn't see anyone but she could've sworn she had heard a sigh just a moment ago. She let her senses trail out, searching for any sign of life. Her eyes narrowed when she felt something off and turned around."Who's there?" she asked sharply. Her hand moved to grip one of the knives Sasuke had got her for Christmas a few months ago.

Baki sighed softly to himself, dropping his chakra. He stepped forward, bowing slightly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

The brunette stared at him for a second and blinked. It didn't take her long to put two and two together. "...Gaara sent you, didn't he?"

Baki nodded slightly and Fang deadpanned with a sigh. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she muttered darkly. "It's fine, Baki. I should've known he would do something like this. You don't need to apologize for Gaara's orders." _'He on the other hand has another thing coming.'_

"He doesn't want you to be harmed. Resentment of his has been growing in the surrounding nations. Also, the Akatsuki is getting closer every day," Baki reminded her calmly.

Fang relaxed her stance, placing her hands on her hips. "It's not the Akatsuki I'm worried about or other people for that matter. They're just too ignorant to understand anything and lack the proper empathy that we were originally born with. I know that most don't understand and I know for a fact that Gaara does too, but there's not much we can do to change that. People are cruel, humanity is corrupt, and there's only so much a single person can do to change the way things are. I know that he's worried, but having someone follow me is still uncalled for," she ranted off bitterly.

Baki had to keep himself from smiling at the teen's brashness. "It still does not matter. I will do whatever the Kazekage-sama asks if it helps ease his mind."

Fang wrinkled her nose at the formality of Gaara's title, still finding it odd. "Yeah, I know you will. I try to, but I usually end with the opposite effect unfortunately."

Baki chuckled, shaking his head. He knew Fang was a little hot-headed when she was irritated, but in all actuality most people found her somewhat amusing. "Not as much as you think. I would like to share more, but I want to see you to the border before the sandstorm hits."

The girl sighed and nodded her head. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. When you see Gaa-" she cleared her throat, "the Kazekage, please tell him that I appreciate his thoughts about my well-being." _'And that I'll deal with him when I get back.' _

He nodded again, bowing slightly. "I will."

Fang nodded to him, fidgeting. "You don't have to bow or do that kind of stuff for me, Baki. I'm just an everyday normal girl," she said.

He just chuckled. "It's a habit. I'm sorry. Now," he gestured to the trees, "Go."

"Again with the apologizing…" the brunette muttered and gave him a little two-fingered salute. "Alright, I'll see you when I get back," she said as she walked to the border. Baki watched her disappear into the trees, smiling softly. He quickly turned and started running.

"Fang," Shikamaru greeted her just inside the border of the woods, nodding his head.

"Hey, Nara. How are you doing?" Fang asked her sister's boyfriend.

The shadow nin nodded his head. "I'm good. Come on, it's so troublesome picking people up," he said as he began walking toward Konoha.

Fang smiled and followed after him, "You haven't changed one bit," She said back to him as they walked quickly to their destination.

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><p><strong>(Time Skip)<strong>

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><p>"We should reach Konoha in a little more than a day. We made good time," Shikamaru said as they stopped to set up camp.<p>

Fang nodded and unrolled a flat-mat to sleep on. "Yeah…Do you know what Vanille needed to talk to me about?"

Shikamaru nodded his head. "Yes, but I'm not allowed to tell you."

The sixteen-year-old brunette grumbled under her breath. "Of course," Fang flopped down on the mat, folding her hands behind her head. Her eyes fixed on the stars, the bright moon casting light down on the forest before she rolled onto her sided and closed her eyes. '_Good night, Gaara…'_


	4. Surprise, Surprise

*Chapter Four. Surprise, Surprise!*

"FANG!" Vanille cried happily as she hugged her sister tightly. Fang, on the other hand, proceeded to choke under her siblings grip. The shorter girl kissed her sister's cheek and let her go, pulling her inside. "How was the journey?"

"Fine," Fang answered with a small smile as she hugged her sister. She didn't realize till she saw her how much she actually missed her.

Vanille hugged her back tightly. "I missed you, Fang."

"I missed you too, sis. So…" she said as she pulled away, "What's so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

The short woman smiled brightly and looked over at Shikamaru. "Well, you know how Shika and I-Ah, forget it! I'm pregnant!"

Silence followed Vanille's statement and Fang stared at her sister unblinkingly. _'Huh?'_ "…I don't think I understand…"

"I'm pregnant." Vanille said again slowly, lightly rubbing her stomach to add to the effect.

"By pregnant you mean the whole ding-dong in the hoo-ha, right?" Fang asked, using her hands to animate what she meant. _'…..'_

Vanilla nodded her head excitedly. "Yes! That, too!"

"You're pregnant…"

"I'm pregnant!"

"I'm going to be an Aunt…"

"You're going to be an Aunt!"

"…I'm going to be an Aunt!" Something seemed to click in the brunette's mind and her eyes became wide and bright as she yelled happily, grabbing her sister's hands as they cheered.

Shikamaru watched amused as the two of them continued to celebrate. The two sisters held onto each other's hands as they jumped around in a circle. That kind of reaction was customary of Vanille, not so much of her younger sister. A lazy smile crossed across his lips as he sighed. "The whole village is going to know if you don't keep it down you two."

"Ah, shut it Nara, I'm going to be an Aunt, my sister a Mother, and you a Father! Of course I'm going to be loud!" Fang yelled with a smile. A look of sheer awe crossed her face and she turned to face the shadow nin, her eyes curious. "You're a lazy-ass nin that finds everything troublesome…How the hell did you get the motivation to do that?"

Shikamaru just shrugged as his girlfriend blushed a bright red. "Fang!"

"Just stating the known, Vanille."

The young coral haired woman shook her head, still flustered by her sister's blunt statement. "You know what I mean. Come on, we might as well get settled for the night. Shika cleared a room for you to stay in, how long are you going to be here for?"

"Eh, a few days I think," the brunette answered her sister as she followed her to her room.

"A few days, that's it?" Vanille asked in disbelief. "Can't we work out a sort of sharing system? He gets you for a few months. I get you for some?"

Fang shook her head, already knowing that Gaara probably wouldn't want her travelling back and forth between the two villages that often. "I don't think that's going to work out Vanille."

"Aw, why not, I miss you and I'm pregnant. I have a right to have my sister here for the duration of my pregnancy," Vanille stated with a pout as they entered the room Fang would be staying in.

The younger of the two siblings shook her head. "You'll have to take that up with Gaara, sis," she said as she dropped her bag onto the floor and flopped on the bed.

"Hm, I will, but until then you should get some sleep. You're probably tired and knowing Shika he's already asleep," Vanille said with a laugh. The petite woman leaned down and hugged her sister tightly. "I'm glad you're here, Fang, even if it's only for a few days."

Fang lifted her arms up to hug her sister back. "I'm glad I'm here, too," she said, giving her sister a warm smile as she pulled away. "Go get some sleep, Vanille. You need to take care of yourself and the future hellion."

Vanilla stuck her tongue out at the brunette and poked her. "Don't call my baby a hellion. They can't possibly be as much trouble as you were."

A laugh escaped Fang's lips. Her sister did have a point. Fang was constantly in trouble when she was young, picking fights, getting beat up, beating other kids up…

What? She could've done a lot worse than what she did.

"Goodnight, Fang," Vanille said with a smile and left the room, closing the door behind her. The room flooded into darkness due to the absences of light. It didn't bother Fang any, she enjoyed the lack of brightness and the silence that accompanied the night.

With a sigh the teen lied back down on the bed and bent her right arm up, sliding it underneath her head to support it. Her eyes stared straight up into the ceiling, feeling slightly out of place in the room. Something caused her stomach to tighten in a slightly uncomfortable knot and she closed her eyes in frustration. _'Great, I've only been gone two days and I already miss him.'_

She hated to admit it, but she always felt so much more relaxed near Gaara. Sure she always had Vanille to talk to, but there was just something about him that always made her comfortable. It was almost as if he kept her from feeling alone, like he'd always be there...

Fang knew that he had a past, but she never asked about it. She knew that if he wanted her to know, he'd tell her. She also had concluded that his past must contribute to why he wanted her to be guarded on her journey, why he had been so protective lately. Don't get Fang wrong, it wasn't that she really minded….

But he could've at least given her a heads up or something! She was sixteen dammit and had been fighting a war since the day she was born. She could take care of herself.

The teen sighed deeply as her hand traveled into her jean pocket and pulled out a cell phone. She flipped it open, the screen telling her it was almost eleven at night. She flicked it back close and tossed it onto the small dresser beside the bed, deciding that sleep was the best thing to aim for.

Fang turned her head and looked out the lone window, able to make out the moon shining behind the shifting clouds. She stared at the beacon in the night sky for hours before she finally succumbed to sleep. _'I wonder if you're thinking of me…'_

* * *

><p>People had always said that one is the loneliest number, at that moment Gaara couldn't help but agree. Baki had returned the night before, bringing the news that Fang had indeed made it to the border without any problems. The Kazekage didn't need to ask to know that Fang had found out about Baki following her. He'd have to deal with that later.<p>

At that moment Gaara was sitting on top of the Kage building, his dark-rimmed eyes staring out at the soundless village. It was an odd feeling, the loneliness. He was avoided as a child and one would think that he was used to it, but now it seemed as if it was beginning to consume him. A deep sigh escaped him and he looked up, the moon almost shined mockingly down at him. It was like it was telling him that this is what he was doomed to feel forever…or at least until Fang got back.

There was only so much he could do, without her he wasn't nearly as entertained as he usually was. That and he got all the paperwork done, which only resulted in giving him more time to kill. It was surprisingly aggravating not having someone to go to. They didn't need to talk to pass time or even kiss. More than anything he missed the feeling of someone next to him, that person silent and thoughtful. Her hand clasped in his own, their fingers lightly locked as they just sat there and thought.

Granted Fang could be a smart ass and beyond stubborn, but she was also one of the most confusing people he had ever met. There were many sides of her and he felt like he only knew a few.

Gaara never realized how much a simple touch could affect someone. When he was growing up children evaded him like the plague and he was constantly denied friendship. Somehow Fang managed to get under his skin in the best way possible and befriend him all those months ago. He barely knew the girl for more than a week when she decided they were going to be friends.

Not only that, but one of the more dark humor points of it was that she was the only friend he had that he hadn't tried to hurt before. He even tried to kill Naruto when he got in his way.

A small smile crossed his lips and he sighed lightly. He was glad he had her, had someone that was never afraid of him. As weird as it seemed to him, Fang had never showed any signs of being remotely scared of him, even after he explained to her about Shukaku. Then again she had her fair share of demons.

Demons aside, her strong personality and strength never stopped her from turning away from some else's touch. She didn't like people touching her, Vanille could hug her all she wanted seeing that they were sisters, but other than that she didn't let people touch her willingly. Except for him, never once had she flinched away from him. She even told him once that she felt safe near him, the thought of her trusting him made him content, happy even.

He knew that he made her happy too. He could see it in the smile she only really gave him, not that smirk or tilt of the lips that screamed her attitude. She showed it in how she let him hold her, the way she would touch the kanji on his forehead ever so lightly on those rare nights they were alone.

But there wasn't someone there to hold as they slept or someone that produced more heat than the dessert sun itself. He wanted Fang to be back here, he wanted to have her back in his arms, and he wanted to hear her breathing as she slept. Gaara knew he was being greedy, but she was one of the few people that brought him happiness.

More than anything else, he wanted to know that she was safe. He just wished the twisting in his stomach would go away. It wasn't helping his nerves.


	5. First Day with the Family

*Chapter 5. First Day with the Family, What could go Wrong?*

Bleary eyes opened for the fifth time, finally being greeted by the lightening sky and not the indigo evening. It had been a restless night. Fang had woken up often and tossed around uncomfortably before her body would allow her to fall back to sleep. Even her dreams were restless, but she was thankful that they remained nightmare-free.

She stretched her arms above her head, letting her head fall back as she yawned. Hopefully it would be an easy day for her. She didn't feel like she'd be able to take it for long if it wasn't. For some reason a feeling of foreboding had increased a tenth fold since she first lied down to rest. Fang shook her head and sat up, she had two days to spend with her sister and she wasn't going to waste them worrying.

As the brunette stood she forced down whatever was eating at her nerves and began re-dressing, pulling on the clothes that she had progressively discarded as she woke up each time. Once she was fully clothed she proceeded to the bathroom to brush her teeth and attempt to make her wild hair not look like bed head. It only took her five minutes to recognize defeat and walk out, heading toward the kitchen.

"Morning sleepyhead, you want breakfast?" Vanille asked as her sister entered the room. Shikamaru was sitting at the table, his head resting on the wood as he waited for his tea.

Fang smiled at the young woman and nodded. "If you would, then yes." She answered as she looked at the Nara carefully. It looked like he was going to pass out right then and there. An evil sort of smile crossed the brunette's lips and she walked pass him to take her own seat. As she sat down her hand came up to smack the face of the table with a loud *BANG*

Shikamaru's head shot up, his eyes blinking in confusion. A small scowl crossed his face when he saw Fang smirking back at him in a satisfied way. His girlfriend's little sister was so troublesome.

"Fang, be nice," Vanille reprimanded her younger sibling as she placed the breakfast in front of her sister and a cup of tea in front of her boyfriend.

Said girl only smiled. "Whatever you say, but Nara, you might want to talk to your doctor. You shouldn't be sleeping so much."

Shikamaru grunted and took a drink of hot tea. Vanilla took a seat between the two of them and turned to Fang. "Did you sleep well?"

Fang nodded and took a bite of eggs, almost groaning when she realized how hungry she was. She knew she shouldn't lie to her sister, but it was a lot better than having her worry. Gaara worried enough for the both of them.

She quickly polished off her breakfast and glanced over at Vanille and Shikamaru, who had started talking. She leaned back in the chair and smiled, listening to them as they conversed. Every once in a while she'd drop in on the conversation, just enjoying the time she spent with them.

After an hour or so they moved their conversation to the living room, Fang now being an active participant as they all began catching each other up on what they've missed. Fang learned that Naruto and Sasuke were still going strong.

"So how's Gaara?" Vanille asked.

Fang was about to reply when the door suddenly swung open and she found herself being lifted into the air.

"Fang, it's good to see you made it here in one piece! So how's the red-headed stepchild doing?" Snow's voice boomed as he continued to hug the life out of the brunette.

"Snow, put her down or else you're going to kill her and then you'll have an angry Gaara at your heels!" Naruto's voice yelled from somewhere behind them.

Snow chuckled and let go of Fang, letting the teen drop as she caught her breath. "So, are you going to answer my questions?" Snow asked with a sly smile on his lips.

The first thing Fang did was bring her fist across Snow's face, knocking him down on his back. Everyone blinked except Vanille, who only covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Fang cracked her knuckles, smiling slightly. "That was for picking me up, Villiers, and to answer your question Gaara is doing just fine. Hey Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura…" She greeted them as they all continued to look down at Snow.

Snow groaned lightly and sat up, rubbing his face. "I thought Light was the only one that did that."

"I learned from the best. You should know better by now, Snow. I hate it when you pick me up," Fang stated, not feeling even slightly sorry for hitting her cousin. It was completely justified.

"Boys never learn," Sakura said as she shook her head and Naruto snickered.

Snow finally managed to get back onto his feet and look toward the brunette with something that resembled a pout. "So this is the greeting I get, a fist to the face?"

"It could be worse," Fang said.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

"You could have a knee to the groin!" Naruto pointed out loudly and Sakura's hand smacked him upside the head. "Sakuraaa," Naruto whined, rubbing his head. Vanille just giggled as Shikamaru shook his head, without a doubt thinking about how troublesome guests were.

Soon, everyone was sitting somewhere, their discussions intermingling with different topics that ranged from Vanille's baby to how Naruto managed to force Sai into a dress. It wasn't until Vanille told them it was almost six when they decided it was time for dinner. Naruto, naturally, wanted to get ramen. Sasuke shook his head and placed his hand over his dobe's mouth, saying that whatever they had on hand would do fine.

After a pleasant meal of rice and teriyaki Fang looked over at the guests and smiled. "Anyone up for a game?"

"Game! What game? I wanna play!" Naruto yelled, immediately getting pumped up.

"What game…?" Snow asked, wary of the glint that appeared in Fang's eye. He knew she was good at some games and she did have a preference…

"Poker," she answered, a smirk pulling at her lips when Naruto nodded his head eagerly. Snow sighed and nodded along with Sasuke.

"Can we play strip poker?" Naruto asked, glancing over at his boyfriend with a clear look of lust.

Snow's eyes widened. "N-" but Fang's hand quickly latched onto it and muffled his protest.

"Of course we can, Naruto," she said, smiling even wider. Her eyes travelled to her sister's and Vanille stood up with a smile, she left the room only to return with a camera. Fang sat down on the floor, pulling out the deck of cards that were burning a hole in her pocket. The boys sat in a circle around her. "First guy that backs out has to run around the house three times naked, deal?"

"Deal!"

"Hn."

"Deal."

"Good," she dealt the cards. "Let the game begin."

* * *

><p><strong>(Time Skip)<strong>

* * *

><p>"How do you do that?" Naruto exclaimed, amazed as Fang placed down a perfect 21. Naruto and the other boys sighed as they started peeling off what was left of their dwindling layers. Sasuke was doing second best, only missing his forehead protector, shirt, and shoes. Snow was left in his jeans, gloves, and hat. Naruto was by far the biggest loser, and he just lost his pants which left him clad in only boxers.<p>

Fang smirked over at the other players. "Oh, you just need to know when to hold them and when to fold them."

"You're counting cards! I just know it!" Naurto accused her. Fang was the only one out of the group that hadn't lost multiple articles. Sasuke was rather good at poker, but not as good as her. She had lost only her shoes.

"You know, Naruto, you can back out," she suggested with a wicked glint in her eye.

Vanille and Fang exchanged glances as the blonde ninja started to talk about pride and dignity, and how he'd beat Fang at poker if it was the last thing he did. Snow shook his head. It was obvious that the teen had no idea what he was getting himself into. Fang was insistent when it came to her cards, and what made matters worse was that she knew she was good. "You can either get naked on your own terms, Naruto, or have to do so by losing, it's your choice," she said breezily.

Naruto's eyes widened and then narrowed, he shouldn't have played when she asked. He sighed and stood up. "How many times around the house?"

"Three," Sasuke said with a smirk. He would never admit it, but he was enjoying himself quite a bit at the moment.

Naruto walked to the door and started to pull his boxers down. Vanille looked away while Fang just made sure not to look lower than his shoulders. When he straightened back up she smirked and brought her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp wolf-whistle, which caused the blonde to blush slightly and Snow to laugh as the blonde disappeared out of the door.

With a satisfied smile Fang had put the cards away.

"Fang?"

"Hn?" Said girl asked as she slid the cards back into her pocket. She turned to face the raven haired Uchiha, his black eyes looking at her with slight amusement.

Sasuke took a step closer to her. "So, have you used your Christmas gift?"

Fang blinked in shock. "The knives? Yeah."

Sasuke shook his head. "No."

"Then wh…Sasuke, you pervert!" Fang bit out, glaring at the teen as he smirked down at her.

"I was just curious," He commented, pleased with the young woman's reaction.

Fang stalked past him, hiding her slight embarrassment. "And to answer your question, no, I haven't. The knives on the other hand come in handy all the time," she said as she pulled a kunai out of her pocket as if to prove a point.

"I was only curious," Sasuke said as Fang continued to mumble under her breath about perverts and corruption.

They didn't have any more time to exchange words because Naruto was apparently done with his run and he hopped back inside. "Never again! Iruka and Kakashi saw me!" he whined as he pulled his boxers back on.

The only response he got to that was a chorus of laughs out of everyone in the house. That house was filled with laughter and loud voices till the wee hours of the morning, when slowly one-by-one each person fell asleep, until only one person remained up.

Fang smiled as she quietly walked to her room and silently slipped in. It had been a productive day to say the least and she quickly found herself enjoying the time she had with her friends. She was careful not to make a single noise as she lied down on the bed, tired but not enough to attempt to sleep.

The brunette pulled a pen out of her bag and a notebook and began to do what she almost always did when she couldn't sleep. She wrote.

In this notebook she had a million plus poems, short stories, and just random writings. She was the only one allowed to see the inside of her notebook, no one else even knew she had one. Not Vanille, not Snow, not even Gaara knew about her writing. It was a luxury like her music. She only sang when she was troubled and only wrote when she couldn't sleep or needed to vent.

She began to write a letter that told about her day and how much fun she had, about how her mind was still spinning. She illustrated how her morning had begun and how lively the night turned out. She wrote about the feeling in her chest that she got from missing Gaara and the knot in her stomach she got from an unknown stress.

She kept on writing until the scratch of the pen turned into an unknown lullaby and it lulled her to sleep. Her form spread across the bed and the notebook open with the utensil still in her hand.

* * *

><p>Gaara sighed and closed his eyes, finishing up the days paperwork after a few hours of working on it. In a few days' time he would have to meet with the Elders for them to discuss future plans. He liked meetings just about as much as he liked paperwork, but it was needed to keep things moving smoothly in the village.<p>

Hopefully in three or four days, Fang would be back.

Gaara sighed quietly and began organizing what he would need for the meeting, even though it was days away.

It wasn't like he had anything better to do.


	6. Happy Forgotten Birthday

*Chapter Six. Happy Forgotten Birthday.*

The first thing Fang was aware of when she began to wake was the pain in her neck. The second was that she was lying on her stomach, which is how she never slept. With a groan, Fang pushed herself up and ran her hand over the tensed muscle until it unknotted. She looked down and saw her abandoned notebook and pen on the bed, realizing that she must've fallen asleep while writing.

A knock at the door was the only warning Fang had to push her notebook underneath her pillow just as Vanille walked in. "Good almost afternoon, Fang," the small woman said with a smile and sat down on her sister's bed, boxes in her hands.

"Good almost afternoon to you, too," Fang responded with a yawn as she stretched her arms.

"You look like you slept hard," Vanille commented, watching her sister.

Fang nodded. "I did, and it felt pretty good," she said with a smile. Her eyes flickered to the boxes in her sister's hands. "What are those?"

"Why don't you open them and find out?" Vanille said with a bright smile. Fang's eyebrow raised and Vanille tilted her head innocently. "You didn't honestly believe that you weren't going to get anything for your sixteenth birthday did you?"

Fang opened her mouth to retort, but quickly closed it. She reached over and grabbed her phone, flipping it open, her eyes staring at the screen. Fang blinked. It was indeed March 13th, her birthday. When it came to Vanille and birthdays, you don't argue. You just don't. With a small smile, Fang shook her head. "No, you didn't, but I did. So, are you going to give me my presents or not woman?"

That got Fang a slap in the back of the head and a laugh from Vanille. "You can be such a brat sometimes, Fang!" she scolded, giggling. It was good to see her younger sister joking around and not as standoffish as she once was. Vanilla grabbed the first box and handed it to her younger sister.

Fang glanced over at her sister and pulled the lid off of the gift and pulled out…three more boxes. Fang raised her eyebrow at her sister, who just smiled brightly. Fang grabbed the first small box. "Is it going to be another box?"

"Open it and find out!" Vanille said, her voice full of excitement.

Fang smiled and pulled the lid off, revealing a pair of purple claw earrings set in silver. It only took Fang a second to recognize them. "These were…"

"Mom's, she always used to say how when we came of age we would get our own jewelry. I've been keeping certain pieces for you to have for years. They seem to fit you, I think," Vanille answered happily and carefully. She knew that their mom was always a touchy subject with Fang.

All Fang could do was nod in agreement, still too shocked to say much. It was tradition to receive jewelry once one reached the age of sixteen. She picked the vibrant earrings and examined them with wide eyes. "I'm going to have to get my ears pierced," she said, glancing over at Vanille who smiled wider and handed her another small box.

Fang eagerly opened it and saw that one contained two necklaces. One necklace was long, beaded necklace that had a stone charm while the other was almost a choker and had a dark crystal set in metal with a silver bauble that hung below the charm. Vanille lightly picked them up and secured them around Fang's neck.

The elder sibling didn't give Fang a chance to open the third small package, favoring to do it herself. She took her sister's left hand in her own and slid the metal bangles over it, letting them fall to her wrists. "You understand your responsibilities, Fang. You almost always have, but these pieces are marks of adulthood in Oerba. It is tradition. I know Mom would've wanted you to have these, just as she would want you to be happy. Now stand up, you're going to have to for your next gift!" Vanille crowed happily.

"How many things did you get me?" Fang asked incredulously as she stood.

"I didn't buy you anything. Two packages rightfully belong to you and the third was made." Vanille stated as she handed her younger sister a box that was bigger from the first and heavier. It almost was as deep as it was wide.

The brunette blinked and raised it to her ear, shaking it. "…Clothes."

Vanilla smacked her arm. "So that's how you always knew what you got for Christmas!"

Fang flinched away, smiling. "It's a skill of mine, I'm a champion at present-shaking," she said as she pulled the top off, she looked down and had to keep herself from dropping the box. Carefully folded was the same sari that she was wearing the night her mom was killed. She froze, unsure of what to do. It almost felt like an ice pick was pierced through her chest.

She quickly recovered herself and managed to put a small smile on her face. She knew that when Vanille told her that her mother would've wanted her to have them that she was right. Their mom always talked about how she couldn't wait to watch her little girls turn into young women, but she couldn't…not anymore…

"It's beautiful, Vanille," she told her sister.

"I remember when you were only four and mom started making it for you. I don't think either of us wants all of her hard work to go to waste," the pregnant woman said as Fang began lifting the sari out. "There are also a few pieces in there for you to wear with it. Do you want to try it on?" Fang nodded deftly. "Do you remember how to wrap it?" Once again the tall brunette nodded and Vanille smiled softly. "I'll wait outside then." Then she left, leaving the young L'Cie to her thoughts.

Fang let the silky material run through her fingers as it fell to the bed and she let loose a deep sigh. She really needed to get a hold of herself, things like that shouldn't unsettle her that much. Then again it was a shock, combined with her recent nightmares just ended up hitting her like a tidal wave. The brunette shook her head and unzipped her hoodie, shrugging out of the sleeves until it fell to the floor. Her shirt, tank top, and sweatpants quickly joined it.

She began rifling through the box and found…more boxes. She shook her head and she opened a smaller box and pulled out a short, black tank top along with a matching pair of shorts. Well, she thought it was a tank, but it looked more or less like a sports bra with diamonds cut out of the back. She shook her head and slid it on and pulled on the shorts. She looked inside of the box and pulled out two black arm-guards and a braided leather band that reminded her of the one her best friend, Lightning, owned. She pushed her bangles up on her arm and slid the guards on, letting the bracelets fall back down. Fang attached the leather band around her right bicep, right below the mark that dubbed her a L'Cie.

Fang reached down and grabbed the sari, letting all of the material unfold until she had hold of the end. She began draping it over her left shoulder, letting part of the material hang down her back, and pulled it down, across to her right hip. She wrapped it around her hips and then wrapped them again, pulling the blue silk lower in the back to make a skirt and she pulled what was left of it up into her skirt and pulled it out, the material cascade down her right leg freely.

One last box remained inside of the clothing box. She opened it and pulled out a thick leather belt that had two fur pelts connected to it. She held the sari in place as she secured the belt low across her hips and buckled it, letting one side fall to the left. In the back of it was some sort of holster that was weighing it down, but that wasn't bothering Fang at the moment.

From that last box she also pulled out a pair of open-toed brown boots that had straps going all the way up her claves. She reached down and pulled them on and straightened up as Vanille cracked open the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yeah, you can come in," Fang said and motioned her sister to come in.

Vanilla walked in with a smile brighter than Rock Lee's teeth and looked Fang up and down. The first thing she noticed was shockingly how her scars had vanished. "Wow, Fang, it looks really good on you," she complimented her younger sister.

Fang nodded and glanced in the mirror, noticing how much more tribal she looked with it on. "I don't think I'll be able to wear it though, that is unless we want people to notice my mark," she said, motioning to the whitish shadow on her arm.

Vanilla nodded her head. "True, but you can still put some wrap over it like Serah did," she pointed out.

Fang nodded in agreement and Vanille walked over, her hand lightly touching her shoulder as her eyes scanned down Fang's back. "Fang, your scars…" Vanille looked up into the mirror. "I can't even see them anymore." A small smile crossed her lips. "Gaara really has helped heal you, hasn't he?"

Fang nodded, a slight smile pulling at her lips as Vanille handed her the last gift. The package was relatively thin and tall. The first thing Fang noticed was that it was heavy. Not an uncomfortable heavy, but a balanced weight. It seemed familiar…

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly and she pulled the lid off and parted the tissue paper, her jaw dropped. "No way…"

It was deep red with blue, green, and gold details. It was beautiful, the wood smooth and polished with notches in it so that she would be able to grip it easier. It was a weapon, both sides of the decorative pole bearing two blades that entwined with each other, the points sharpened with the intent to be deadly. It was a dual-bladed lance, a kendo masters dream. She lifted it out of the box and gave it an experimental twist, letting the wood roll over her palm like it belonged there. Fang turned her wide eyes to her sister. "Where…How…?"

"I remembered your old one that you had when you were still training with Teacher. It took me a while to finish it, but I think I got it right…"

Fang, with the lance still in her hand, embraced her sister tightly. "It's perfect. Everything is perfect. Everything…"

Vanilla closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette. "I'm glad you like it." She pulled away and placed a hand on Fang's cheek, smiling at her warmly. "Mom would be very proud of you, Fang. Don't you ever doubt that. I'm proud of you…" she pulled away and grabbed her sister's hand. "Come on! It's time to pierce your ears!"

"You're not doing it."

"What? Why?"

"You'll end up moving at the last moment and piercing my neck, Vanille."

"…Fine, Shikamaru can do it for you. Oh and Fang."

"Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday."

* * *

><p>Gaara placed the pen back on his desk and leaned back in his chair. Everything was ready for the meeting, it only took a day. That and Fang would be leaving for Suna the next morning. In three, maybe even two days' time she would be back. She would be back and he could stop worrying so much and actually relax a little. That and make the feeling of dread go away for good.<p> 


	7. An 'Oh Shit' Moment

*Chapter Seven. This is What you'd Call an 'Oh Shit' Moment.*

"Do you really have to go so soon?" Vanille whined with a pout, her arms trapping her sister to her side like a tumor. She didn't want to let her go. It felt too soon for her to be leaving already. The last day had come and gone so quickly, it hardly seemed like three days had passed since Fang had arrived in Konoha. The frenzy of people and play had blended together and made the time go by even faster than what was anticipated.

Fang sighed and hugged her sister carefully then attempted to pry herself away from her sister's clutches. "I have to go Vanille, or else Gaara is going to send an army to come get me," she said with a laugh, only partially joking.

Her sister clung onto her tighter, refusing to let go. "I'm going to miss you, sissy," she didn't know why, but something was starting to make her stomach knot. Wasn't it too early for the baby to be affecting her like that?

Fang squeezed her sister gently. "I'm going to miss you too, 'Nilla Bean," she said quietly, calling her sister by the old nickname she used for her when they were younger.

When Vanille heard that she couldn't help but to smile, it had been years since anyone had called her that. "Stay safe, keep your phone on, and call me when you get back. Are you sure you don't want Shika to go with you or possibly Naruto?"

Fang smiled to her sister reassuringly. "I'll be fine, Vanill-"

"You take care of yourself, shorty!" Snow interrupted her, hugging the shorter brunette tightly.

"Snow! Put me down!" Fang ordered as she flailed in her cousin's arms.

Snow just chuckled and sat her down and ran a hand through her hair. "Tell Gaara that we say 'Hi,' and that the next time he should try to come with you."

Fang just grumbled and straightened her holster. She was wearing her sari to please her sister. She decided to do as Vanille suggested and wrapped black cloth around her burned-off mark. "I will." With one last smile, she waved and started walking away. "Take care of yourselves, I'll be back, I promise."

Snow chuckled and wrapped his arm around Vanille's shoulders. "We know, Fang. We know."

Vanille sighed softly and smiled as she watched Fang disappear. "Be safe," she said quietly, her stomach churning uncomfortably. Was it just her, or was the sky darkening? Her sister had completely disappeared from view and they turned to walk away. After walking for only ten minutes Vanille stopped. "Snow…"

The tall blonde stopped beside her, looking down at the young woman. "What is it?"

"I-I have a really bad feeling," she stuttered out, her chest becoming heavy. Vanille knew that feeling, it was foreboding, dread. It only seemed to get worst when Fang had departed, it must've been a sign. "I think we should follow Fang."

"Are you sure, Vanille? What do you feel?" Snow wasn't an idiot, he knew that Fang would flip a lid if she caught them following her, but he also knew that Vanille was able to sense when something bad was going to happen.

"I'm not sure yet, but I know that it has something to do with Fang," Vanille answered. That was all they needed to know before they turned and began walking swiftly in the direction Fang went.

* * *

><p>It had only been a few minutes since Fang left for the Sand Village and she was already bored out of her mind. She could hear the sound of birds and other animals as they hid in the trees. She was going to miss it here, Konoha was definitely beautiful. That and it wasn't as hot as the desert.<p>

The brunette smiled and glanced up through the trees, barely making out the bright blue sky of the March morning. She would be seeing Gaara soon and the thought made her happy. The only real obstacle in her way was the damn wind she'd have to go against once she gets to the border, but she could deal with that.

Fang quickly got lost in her musings, not realizing how the trees were silent around her and how the animals went mute. The silence stretched on for a few minutes before she sighed and stopped. Fang ran a hand through her hair, finally noticing how quite it was, not even the wind seemed to be making noise. Her eyes narrowed and ice-cold settled in her chest, something was definitely wrong.

Quietly, she ran forward, her heart thudding in her chest heavily. It felt like pins had replaced the blood in her veins, her senses were in overload. What the hell was going on? She froze for only a moment to gain her bearings, and then she heard it. It made her heart stop beating all together, the sound of turbines…

An air ship…

Her head snapped up as the sound approached, there was no mistaking it. Quickly she pulled back under the cover of the trees. The wanted L'Cie swore under her breath. "How did they find me?" she asked herself as she dropped her bag and reached down into her boots. Yep, the kunai were still there and she had her lance holstered. Fang knew better than to hope that they would pass over that place. Cocoon was hundreds of miles away, and they didn't go this far for just surveillance.

Somehow, they knew.

Fang could feel her heart begin to start back up in double time, adrenaline pumping through her blood like a poison. What if they knew where Vanille and Snow were? She quickly looked up, seeing the bow of the vessel. "Well, here goes nothing…" she said to herself as she ran out into the open, knowing full well that she was going to catch their attention.

Almost as soon as she had ran out from her cover, the spotlight from the ship had locked on her. "Enemy L'Cie spotted. I repeat enemy L'Cie spotted!" A voice from a loudspeaker said loudly, confirming the sighting. "Stop L'Cie!"

Fang didn't listen and she continued running, her long legs pushing her forward swiftly. She didn't have to look to know that PSICOM officers had already been released and were now falling to the ground. She reached into her pouch and grabbed her cell phone, throwing it out into the trees discretely. The last thing she needed was Vanille calling her phone and having them trace it.

Fang could hear them running behind her and she ran into a clearing, she had to be a ways away from Konoha by now. Hopefully they weren't in the jurisdiction. Her feet carried her into a clearing as she heard their pursuit. She knew she only had two choices, one was to let herself get captured and in by doing so lead them away from Vanille and Snow, not to mention the innocent people of Konoha and Suna. The second was quite simple. Kill all of the PSICOM officers that come in contact with her.

Fang's feet stopped and she rounded on her pursuers, her hand pulling her lance free from the holster. In barely a few seconds she was confronted by a horde of soldiers, all of whom were carrying automatic guns. A small smirk played upon her lips as she spun her weapon around in a circle. "Well, well, well, so many men coming after me? I'm flattered."

"Drop your weapon L'Cie, and put your hands in the air!" an officer commanded, taking aim at her chest.

The brunette watched as they all waited for her surrender. Seconds ticked by in still silence as the tension began to build. "We've got you out numbered! Put down your weapon and put your hands in the air!"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Option two it is then."

* * *

><p>Tension increased with every hurried step they took as Vanille and Snow hastened toward Fang. "She couldn't have gone very far," Snow reassured his cousin, noting the undoubted worry that was in her eyes.<p>

Vanille nodded her head, trying to feel reassured. "Right. I'm sure I'm just over reacting." It didn't matter how much either of them wanted to agree with that, they couldn't get past the foreboding atmosphere.

Nevertheless, Snow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what's the worst that can happen?"

Eerie silence fell over the woods only to be interrupted by the sound of turbines breaking through the air. Whatever color was left in their faces drained as the haunting realization came to them. Wide green eyes stared into equally large blue ones with horror. "How…?"

The tall blonde just tore his eyes away to look up into the canopy, barely making out the outline of the aircraft as it began to travel towards them. "Come on, we need to find Fang."

Vanilla nodded and began to run with Snow at her side. Neither said a word as their eyes swept the foliage, looking for any sign of the brunette. Instead both of them zeroed in on a discarded leather pack that lied abandoned with a small cell phone not far away. Vanille stopped and picked her sister's bag up. "She can't be that far from here…" she said quietly. Snow nodded in agreement, bending down and grasping the small phone in his hand and placing it in his pocket.

Shouting voices came from their right and they turned toward them in shock. The voices were muffled and distant, but seemed to sound like people were yelling out commands. Snow and Vanille exchanged quick glances and hastened closer, crouching down to make sure that they were completely covered. Soon it became clearer what the people were saying and they slowed, finding behind a line of bushes. Silence fell over them once more as the thickness in the air became more solid.

"Option two it is then…"

Vanille's head snapped up as Fang's voice stirred the air, followed by the sound of guns going off. She started to get up but Snow caught her around the arm and held her back, "Vanille, you can't run in there in the state you're in," he reminded her quietly which got her to stop struggling.

When he was sure she wasn't going to jump in on the fight he released her and began to peek through the leaves. He managed to make a hole big enough to make out Fang's form as she moved through the lines of PSICOM officers and motioned Vanille closer. She scooted close and looked in, a worried frown on her face as she watched her sister fight.

* * *

><p>The brunette spun her lance around in a circle to her side, glancing around at the remaining men as she ran quickly. A shower of bullets tailed her as she weaved between the bodies, her lance connecting with the calculated moves of her attack. She silently thanked her training time that she had with Temari and Kankuro. It definitely paid off in the speed factor.<p>

Their shouts of pain and gunshots barely registered in her mind. A haze had fallen over her with each powerful strike she made with her weapon. Each swing becoming more precise as her body began to remember with more accuracy the training that she had learned long ago. Magic flushed through her veins, wanting nothing more than to find release from the confines of her body. She could feel the nerves from the tips of her fingers all the way to her toes tingle from anticipation, but she held it in. there was no need for her abilities in this fight, not at this time. She knew that. All it would do was strengthen Cocoon's belief that L'Cie were monsters, that their supernatural gifts could be used for nothing else but harm.

The bodies that she had successfully killed fell to the ground and began to slowly fade as their wounds bled out. Less than a fourth of the original soldiers were still standing, yelling out commands that went unheard in her ears. The only sound she was concentrating on was the sound of the airship getting closer, signifying the backup that was needed on PSICOM's side.

Time was running out, either she had to get rid of the soldiers now or she'd have to deal with a ship full of them. If she could finish the rest off quickly their remains would disappear along with any solid proof of a L'Cie in the area.

Fang glanced around at the twenty or so men that were still fighting against her, running between the trees to evade their bullets. Ducking down behind a tree, Fang peeked around the edge carefully as to not catch their attention. One look confirmed that they were only a few yards back and were slowly making their way over to where she was.

The ship was closing in. Time was running out, she had no other choices. With one last, deep breath, she closed her eyes and gripped the lance in her hand tightly. It was now or never. Her eyes opened as she stepped out from her hiding place, letting the internal and mental restraints loosen and allowing the magic to flow from her reserves. The mark on her arm began to tingle as tendrils of blue and gold swirled around her form.

The soldiers backed up in shock, momentarily stunned at her advances. The coils began swirling faster as she brought her right hand up, preparing for the one technique that would finish them off. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she concentrated on her energy levels. She could control herself. Well, she hoped so.

The wrath within her body was preparing to be unleashed when the corner of her eye caught some movement. The bushes separated just enough for her to catch a glimpse of reddish-pink hair and a startling green eye from her peripheral vision. Fang froze, dead silence filled the air as the wind started to pick up. The L'Cie refused to look in the direction of the movement as the wisps of color faded from around her.

The atmosphere began to stir once again as the aircraft broke into the canopy. Fang relaxed and crossed her arms as a spotlight fell upon her. "Well, it's about time you got here. I thought I was going to die of old age," she said, looking up into the light. She got no response aside from another swarm of soldiers jumping out from the craft, making their way down quickly to apprehend her.

More movement came from the shrubs and the brunette clenched her jaw. The last thing she needed was for her pregnant sister to get involved in this mess. The quivering quickly stilled and she internally sighed in relief, thanking Snow for whatever did to stop Vanille from jumping out.

The ship landed as the PSICOM officers swarmed back around the L'Cie. Fang could feel the barrels of their guns press against her skin as someone stole away her lance. A hand grasped ahold of her shoulder and forced her down to her knees, the gun taking aim at her head.

"Cease fire!" a female voice ordered. The gun moving away as Fang felt something being placed underneath her chin and her head was coaxed upward. She looked up into the cold, amused eyes of a long-haired blonde.

"Nabaat," Fang acknowledged the woman whose crop was placed against her skin. "Long time, no see."

The Commander smiled down at the L'Cie, "Indeed it has been," she stepped back, releasing the brunette's chin. "It's the one. Call off the search, and get it up on its feet." Another gun made itself home against Fang's skin as it urged her to stand up without someone actually having to touch her.

Fang rose as another gun was presented to her back. The L'Cie inclined her head as she straightened up, her eyes flickering over to the side momentarily as she shot her concealed sister a warning glance before she yawned. "Well then, we should probably get going. You wouldn't want to keep Dysley waiting now would we?"

Nabaat smiled and fixed her glasses. "Indeed we wouldn't," the blonde said as she began walking back towards the ship, Fang falling into step behind her with her escorts.

* * *

><p>Vanille and Snow watched the shuttle lift up off the ground and disappeared from view. The young woman turned to her cousin with wide, fearful eyes. Snow avoided her eye contact and reached into his pocket, retrieving Fang's discarded cell. He flipped it open and pushed the second speed dial, placing the device to his ear as he ran a hand through his hair. "Light? We have a problem…"<p>

* * *

><p>Lightning Farron sighed and placed her unoccupied hand on her hip, the other holding her satellite phone to her ear. "What's the problem this time, Snow?" she asked. Her pale blue eyes drifted to look at the three other people that were gathered by her. <em>'He better have a good reason for calling me,' <em>she thought, her light pink hair falling into her eye.

"Fang was taken."

The officer paused, taken aback. "When?"

"A few minutes ago, look Ligh-"

Lightning quickly snapped her phone shut, frowning. "Sazh, Hope, you two will have to go and join Snow and Vanille."

The two males in the group blinked and glanced at each other in question. "What's going on?" Hope asked, glancing back over at the woman.

The pinkette stared back at him. "Fang was taken. I need you to go back up Snow and Vanille and help them get to Cocoon," she tossed a transmitter at Sazh, who caught it. "The coordinates of Snow's location is it there. It should take you a week or so to get to them. Once you're there, you will mobilize and start toward Palumpolum. Once you get there, send me a message and I'll get into contact with you."

Hope and Sazh glanced at each other as a yellow bird popped out of the taller mans' hair. "What are you going to do?" Hope asked her with a slight frown on his face.

"Someone needs to go and make sure she doesn't get herself killed. Her idiocy still shocks me after all this time," she answered back coolly. The two shook their heads and with a sigh left in the direction the GPS was indication to go.

Lightning watched them go as a smaller, younger version of her walked over. "So we're heading to Palumpolum again?" Serah Farron asked her sister."

The older of the two nodded and lightly traced her necklace. "Yeah, we need to start our journey today. The government has grown more impatient lately, we don't want to run out of time," she said quietly_. 'Besides, Fang isn't exactly the most bearable person in the world,'_ she thought with a slight grimace. The brunette may have been her best friend, but she could piss off the Dahlia Lama.

Serah nodded, a smile blooming on her face. "Snow's going to come back with them, right?"

Lightning rolled her eyes at her sister's question. "Yes, Snow is going to be there," she answered reluctantly. _'How can she be so happy with such an idiot for a fiancée? Every time I see him the only feeling I get is the urge to punch something, preferably his face,' _she thought silently to herself. She looked at the joyous expression of the younger woman's face and barely contained a sigh. "Come on, we don't want to waste any more time." The shorter pinkette nodded her head as Lightning started stalking off in the opposite direction, following the path to Palumpolum.


	8. Let the Race Begin

*Chapter Eight. Let the Race Begin.*

Gaara sighed softly, listening to the Elders giving their reports.

"The trading between Konohagakure and our village is going very well, Kazekage-sama."

He nodded in acknowledgment, flipping through the reports in front of him. _'I wonder what time Fang is going to get back today…' _he thought to himself. It was the third day, the day that Fang was due back in Sunagakure and the only thing that Gaara wanted at the moment was for the meeting to be over.

The Elders continued to talk while Gaara forced himself to listen to them. A loud bang rang through the air, making the Elders stop their discussion.

"Gaara! Sabaku-no-Gaara, have you seen him? What do you mean? No, this is important! I don't care- Hey! Get off you idiots!" Gaara blinked and looked up as Snow's voice carried loudly through the building. _'Snow? What's he doing here?' _A loud crashing noise was heard followed by the door swinging open.

"Gaara! I have to-ah, hey..." The tall blonde waved awkwardly at the people staring at him.

Gaara stood up, raising an eyebrow. "Snow? What is the meaning of this?" he looked at the flustered blonde, noticing how Fang's cousin wasn't looking directly at him but letting his eyes wander on everyone else in the room. The knot in Gaara's stomach tightened considerably as a second ticked by.

"Uhm, I don't think we should talk about it here..." Snow said, glancing around at the Elders. He backed up into the open doorway and motioned for Gaara to follow him.

Gaara nodded, slipping out into the hallway, despite the Elders' protest. He closed the door and turned to face him. "What's wrong?"

Snow looked down at the Kazekage and scratched the back of his head. _'No use in delaying the inevitable,'_ "Well...It's Fang..."

Gaara could feel his nerves suddenly come on end and his back straightened, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What about her?" he asked coolly.

"Well…" Snow noticed the change in the red head immediately and he began to have second thoughts. "She was kind of apprehended by PSICOM Soldiers and taken back to Cocoon to put it lightly."

Silence dropped over them along with a new heavy atmosphere. "…And when was this?" Gaara finally asked.

"Eh, about three days ago," the tall blonde said, trying to relax the situation. He watched as Gaara clenched his jaw, eyebrows knitting together in an obvious pissed-off look. "Hey! Don't give me that look! It takes a long time to get here!" Snow said in a slightly joking voice. "Plus, Fang's a big girl. She knows how to take care of herself."

The shorter red head looked up at Snow, glaring slightly. "I don't think now is the time to be making jokes. I knew she shouldn't have gone. I had a bad feeling from the start..." he almost snapped out at Snow before taking a deep breath. "I need you to go to Konoha. Gather Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sakura. I'll meet you there," he ordered before he headed down the hall, fists clenching and unclenching.

Snow sighed and shook his head. "This is the last thing Fang wanted, Gaara," he mumbled as he began to walk away. "She understands that this is our war, not yours..."

Gaara narrowed his eyes as Snow's whispering voice carried to his sensitive ears. _'Not my war, anything that has to do with her has to do with me,' _he thought as he swiftly walked farther away from his office.

A puff of smoke stopped him as Baki appeared before him, bowing. "Kazekage-sama, the Elders are waiting for you at the meeting," he said as he straightened up.

Gaara frowned at the reminder. "Baki, you will be covering for me until I return. I'll send a message when I head back, I'll explain everything when I return." Baki blinked but nodded none the less, as Gaara walked past him, down the hall, and in to his room.

* * *

><p><strong>(Time Skip)<strong>

* * *

><p>Gaara sighed softly as he knocked on the door to the Nara household, only slightly worn from the two days it took him to get to The Village Hidden in the Leaves. Snow leaned against the door frame, looking a great deal more tired from the lack of sleep he had.<p>

Vanille opened it, her eyes a little red and bloodshot from her tears. "Hello, Gaara," she said quietly as she stepped back to let him in, a small smile on her lips.

Gaara looked her over before he sighed. '_Figures she would try her hardest to keep happy,'_ he thought as he rested a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

She asked with a watery smile. "How are you holding up?"

He gestured to himself, shrugging. "I'm still in one piece."

"On the outside."

"That's all that matters," he muttered, heading deeper inside.

Vanille sighed and wrung her hands together as Snow walked over to and placed an arm around her shoulders. "You should know more than any of us how strong Fang is. She'll be alright."

The short girl nodded her head, another forced smile pulling at her lips. "I know."

Gaara sighed, walking into the living room. Inside of the living room Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura were conversing. All of them were packed and ready to go for days after Snow had called Vanille and passed on what Gaara had said.

Snow was about to close the door when a foot slid in between the door and the frame. "It took us five days to get here, you better let us in," a deep voice said.

Snow retracted his foot, a look of shock on his face. "Sazh?"

The door opened again and revealed two other people, a short, silver-haired boy and a tall man with a black afro. "Who else would it be?" the taller said. "After you called Light, she sent us on our merry way to come collect you two and get over to Cocoon," he shook his head and walked in, the teen following after him. Both of them blinked and stared at the others in the room who were currently staring right back at them with shocked faces.

"Light sent you here? Why didn't she tell me that sooner?" Snow asked in irritation.

"When does Lightning ever tell you anything?" the shorter teen asked, his eyes catching Naruto's who tilts his head. "Who are these people?" he asked as a tiny, yellow bird flew out of the other's hair.

Naruto grinned as he watched the yellow chick. "It's so cute."

"It's a chocobo," Sazh said.

"A what?"

"It's basically a bird, but it's still young. When it's full grown it'll be bigger than Snow."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Oh…" Naruto watched it in amazement, causing Sakura to roll her eyes and shake her head. Naruto looked over at her and shrugged, turning back to the other two, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. This is my teammate Haruno Sakura."

"Hope Estheim. I'm Snow's step-brother," the silver-haired boy introduced himself, gesturing to the tall blonde at his side.

"Sazh Katzroy," the one with the bird introduced.

Gaara took off his gourd, listening to the introductions silently. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, keeping out of view of the others.

"Pleased to meet you, but why are you here?" Sazh asked.

"We're going to rescue Fang!" Naruto exclaimed as if it was obvious, causing Sazh and Hope to both look over at Snow disapprovingly.

"Snow, we can't get more people involved in this. You know how Light is, when she finds out-"

"You're going to tell her?"

"I have to message her so that we can receive further instructions. Snow, these people have no idea what's going on. We can't spread this even more than it already has. I know you're reckless, but think about what you're saying. What happens if we encounter a Fal'Cie, and they get caught in the cross-fire? They haven't been exposed to that and we can't have them being infected by that now," Sazh reasoned as Hope nodded in agreement. "Besides, this is our fight we-"

"This is our fight, too," Gaara said quietly from his place by the wall.

The man stopped his rebuttal and turned his head as everyone fell silent. Hope blinked and looked behind him, meeting the redheads stare. "Um, who are you?" he asked, slightly wary of the other. _'Is he wearing eyeliner? And is that a tattoo on his forehead?' _

"Sabaku-no-Gaara," he answered, his eyes flickering to Sazh. "Whatever has to do with Fang has to do with us."

"Okay little man, listen to me for a sec. We," he motioned to Vanille, Snow, Hope, and himself, "are four out of a seven man team. Two of them that aren't here are the strongest in our group, Lightning and Fang. Now, Fang may be stronger than Lightning, but Light is the leader for the most part. What she says goes, unless if you want to end up like Snow here and have a permanent fist print on his face. Light-"

"It's not that easy, Sazh," Snow interrupted with a sigh. "We have to take them with us."

"Oh, and why is that? Because the friend they think they know may possibly be in-"

"Gaara is Fang's boyfriend," Vanille interrupted quickly before Sazh could say anything else to possibly upset the nins.

"…Fang's dating someone?" Hope asked in obvious disbelief. Everyone aside from the two new L'Cie nodded their heads, causing Sazh and Hope exchanged bewildered looks. "How come no one told us?"

"Because Fang never told Light. If pinky knew, then Fang would never here the end of it," Snow said before he looked over at Sazh. "That changes the situation. I know that it's our fight and that we can't have others going in for us, but we don't have much say. Even if we do go without them, he's stubborn enough to follow us and the others will be too."

Sazh flickered his eyes over to Fang's boyfriend and looked him up and down. _'He doesn't seem like one I'd want to get on his bad-side with.' _

Hope stepped closer to Gaara, causing the Shukaku vessel to turn his attention to the shortest L'Cie. Hope looked up at him and narrowed his eyes in thought as they stared at each other. "…We just won't have to tell Light," the silverette said simply, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Sazh grumbled under his breath. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, but if anything goes wrong, Snow, you're the one that takes the blame and the punch."

Snow winced slightly. _'It's been a while since I've been hit by her, too.'_ "Fine, we need to get prepared."

Shikamaru sighed, looking over at Gaara. He walked next to him, muttering to the red-head quietly. Gaara whispered something back and Shikamaru nodded, meshing his fingers together, "That could work."

Naruto jumped over the other nins and L'Cie, tackling Gaara into a big hug, "Don't worry, Gaara, we'll get her back! Dattebayo!" Gaara sighed, patting the leaf nin's back as he was released.

Shikamaru stood up, waiting for Vanille and Snow as they walked to them, motioning for the other two to follow, which they did. "We're going to Cocoon and getting her back," The genius stated, "We'll all be traveling as a group. I trust that one of you," he said, looking at the others, "can take us there." All of the L'Cie nodded in confirmation and Shikamaru nodded, putting his fingertips together. "How long?"

"Well, it took us about five days to get here, but we weren't all the way in the middle of Cocoon," Sazh said as he tapped his fingers to his thighs.

"Then, let's say a week. Who knows what could happen along the way."

"I'll take care of the supplies," Gaara said.

Shikamaru nodded, looking over at Snow. "Anything else we should know about?"

"Well, other than the fact that the group of us are wanted 'Criminals,' and Cocoon wants our public executions, nope. I think we're good."

"Nothing really unusual," Naruto quipped, earning him a punch in the arm from his pink haired companion. "Sakura-chan..." he mumbled, rubbing his arm.

The silver-haired boy smirked softly and looked at Snow. "Like you and Lightning."

Snow grumbled under his breath and pushed his hand into the shorter boy's face. "Yeah, I know Hope."

Gaara grabbed his gourd and headed out, causing Shikamaru at shake his head with a sigh. The blonde nin sighed internally. "Don't worry about him. He'll be alright once we get moving," Naruto said, watching his friend leave.

"Geeze, Fang sure knows how to pick them," Sazh said to himself, earning a few glares from the Konoha nin.

Shikamaru lightly grabbed Vanille's hand and pulled her out into the hallway, causing the woman to look up at her boyfriend with a confused look. "What's going on?"

"I think you should stay here."

"...What?" she asked again, a little bit louder.

"Think about it, Vanille. We now have more numbers in our team that are going after Fang. It's not going to hurt any if you stay behind. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'm not going to be left behind," Vanille said angrily, her voice rising. "My sister needs me, I'm going with you."

"Vanille, calm down."

"No, I will not calm down! For once, I'm not the one that needs help. Fang does! And I'm not going to wait here and not know what's going on!" Vanille screamed, causing Snow, Hope, and Sazh to run out into the hallway in shock.

"Vanille..."

The girl took a deep breath, as tears began to well up in her eyes again. "I won't...I can't..."

Shikamaru hugged her gently, sighing. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just don't want you to get hurt..."

"She's not going to get hurt," Sazh said, crossing his arms. "I've seen Vanille fight. She knows how to hold her own."

Gaara walked in, setting down the bags and tilting his head slightly at the odd picture he walked in on.

"Pregnant woman's hormones." Snow answered Gaara's unasked question.

"You have a bun in the oven?" Sazh asked, shocked. Vanille nodded her head and he ran a hand through his fro. "Well, I'll be..."

Gaara shook his head, crossing his arms. "I could tell that much."

Vanille nodded and pulled away from Shikamaru, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, that's why I wanted Fang to come here. I wanted to tell her the news."

Gaara nodded, looking down at the floor, causing Vanille to bow her head, "Gaara, can I speak with you?" she asked as she lifted her head to see him nod. The lithe girl walked up to him and led him out of the house and out to a part in the woods were they could talk without everyone trying to eaves drop.

"What's going on?" he asked her quietly.

Vanille looked over at him sadly. "I know that you probably don't really want to talk about it, but there's a reason that Fang was taken. How much about herself and her past has she talked to you about?"

Gaara crossed his arms, sighing internally. "She told me about Ragnarok and Oerba, she didn't really go into detail about her past."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "It's up to Fang to tell you about her past, but you need to know certain things to understand what Fang did five days ago." Vanille watched as Gaara nodded once before she continued. "Years ago, when I was only nine, our lives changed. Our mother was trying to escape from the village when the investigations on natural born L'Cie's began. The only problem was that Fang was still up and caught up to our Mom outside. Fang tried to get our Mom to explain it to her, but she couldn't. All she could tell Fang was how special she was and how much she loved her. She told Fang that once she had a new home then she'd send someone to take us back to her, but Fang didn't understand, she was too young..."

Vanille twisted her fingers together, causing a pain to go through Gaara's chest, _'That's what Fang does when she thinks about what to say…'_

"Our mother made Fang promise to protect me, to protect her family. Fang agreed right before our mother was killed in front of her." The girl looked over at Gaara, her eyes beginning to brim with more tears. "When Fang left our house to head back to Suna, I felt something change, a bad change. Snow and I went after her, when we caught up to her she was fighting off PSICOM officers. She could've killed them all. She could've stayed safe..." she shook her head.

"She saw us. Fang stopped fighting so that we wouldn't get caught. If we weren't there, she would be here..." she gasped out as tears fell from her closed eyes. Before she could say anything else, Gaara wrapped his arms around the small woman, hugging her gently. "I'm sorry," Vanille sobbed, her whole body shaking.

"It's not your fault," he whispered, holding her close. The woman said nothing as she tried to control herself. When her sobs subsided he gently pressed his lips to the top of her head. "It'll be alright."

Vanille nodded her head, wiping her eyes again. "Yeah..." She felt him squeeze her gently before he let go. She straightened up and took a deep breath before looking into the redhead's eyes, "You should also know, Gaara, that it's not your fault. Even if you wouldn't let Fang come she would've found a way here."

The red head closed his eyes, a soft breath soundlessly passing through his lips. "I know."

Vanille reached out her hand and gently squeezed Gaara's own cold one. "Come on, we need to go soon." Gaara nodded and walked back to the house with Vanille at his side.

* * *

><p>Fang paced around her room to relieve her pent-up energy. If it could be considered a room, it had a bed and restricted space with only one window to allow a sight of freedom. It was almost taunting. Two days, it had already been two days since she was brought back into this Hell-hole called Cocoon. Add that with the three days she spent on an airship surrounded by guns, and you could understand her pacing. Five days cooped up in already hostile situations with a very short leash tended to make her antsy. All she could do now was wait until the plan went into effect.<p>

Yeah, plan. It didn't matter if Fang wanted to get rescued or not, Vanilla and Snow were definitely there when Nabaat and her crew showed up, and they were bound to tell Lightning. Now that was one conversation Fang would've paid money to hear. She could almost imagine her stoic friend's voice as she snapped at Snow before hanging up on him.

The L'Cie sighed deeply and stopped her pacing long enough to stare out of the barred window. She could see the lights from Cocoon's citizens, disrupting the gently night with their harsh brightness. The sight of them was making her head ache. It was a hard transition going from the small technological advances from the fire and wind countries to the bustling electronics of Cocoon.

She shook her head and walked away from the window, turning away from the city. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the customary prisoner's robe that was neatly folded on her bed. One look at the offending clothing made her blood boil, _'As if I'd ever stoop low enough to be known as a prisoner,'_ another sigh passed through her lips silently as she turned away once again, crossing her arms as she turned back to her only connection to the outside world.

Unbeknownst to the young woman, a man slipped inside quietly and leaned against the door. He watched the dark haired L'Cie that continued to stare out of the window, the young woman not even acknowledging his presence. He waited in silence for a while before a small smirk pulled on his lips. "Look who we have here."

The L'Cie only continued to look out of the slightly dirty window. Her eyes focused in on the reflection instead of what was outside for a moment, and she caught sight of a brunette man in a traditional suit watching her back. "What did you expect? I'm not going anywhere," she said.

The man smiled, noting the undertone of a certain attitude that he couldn't quiet place. _'This should be interesting.'_ A moment of silence followed before he attempted to get her to talk, choosing his words wisely. "I never thought I'd see you of all things."

"And why's that?"

"Figured you'd be long dead before you came here."

The woman gave a bitter laugh. "You're not the only one."

He chuckled, watching her carefully before he started to lead her into another question. "So, why are you here? You willingly let yourself be captured? That's not like you."

Fang had to keep herself from smirking. "Rephrase, why did I stop my attack when I could've easily killed them?" she corrected for him, knowing what he was really asking. The L'Cie shrugged. "Why would I kill them? They don't know the truth. All they know is what Orphan's been telling them. "

"What difference does that make? It's never really stopped you before," he reminded her.

"I don't like killing those who're being blindsided," she lied easily. _'Yeah, like I'm going to tell you the real reason. Those officers should be worshipping my sister and cousin's feet for saving their lives.'_

His eyes watched her intently before he shook his head, standing up straight. "It seems that this is getting us nowhere. I'll have to try some other time when you feel like being cooperative."

Fang snickered softly. _'That's not going to happen any time soon, baka.' _

He smirked. "It's time for me to go. I'll be back later with some friends."

Fang glanced at him from over her shoulder. _'I can't wait to kill you'_ "Until then..."

He bowed mockingly. "Katsuo," he said before leaving her to own thoughts again. The door closed tightly behind him and the dark haired man paused for a moment, turning to the guards. "I want three men on this door at all time and five teams patrolling this quadrant. If anything weird happens, I want to be contacted immediately."

"Yes, sir."

"Right away, sir."

He didn't wait for any other conformation before he started walking away. _'Oerba Yun Fang…'_


	9. The Bipolar Me

*Chapter Nine. The Bipolar Me.*

Gaara sighed, gazing at everyone around the fire as they lay sleeping. Two days had already gone by since they left on the retrieval mission. The first night Naruto had managed to stay up to keep him company through the night and to distract him, but he wasn't allowed that leisure twice. He buried his face in his hands, finally able to think. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. _'I shouldn't have let her go. Not alone. I should've known...' _

'_And how DID you know?'_

'_Shukaku, lea-'_

'_Leave you alone? I'm a part of you, Jinchuuriki. I can't leave.' _

'_Then stay silent.'_

'_Very well. Besides, it's easier when you're fighting yourself and not me._' And with that, the demon fell quiet.

'_But, she wouldn't have let anyone go with her. She's too stubborn. I feel so... helpless? Is that the word?'_ he thought silently to himself, gazing around absently. _'I can't do anything. At least, not yet...'_

'_And what will you do when you get the chance?'_

To that question, he had no answer. He was trained to use violence, fighting. _'I have to fight. For her. For us. For whatever shred of a future we have left.'_

The demon chuckled deeply at his sentiment. _'You're growing soft on me, Gaara. And when you are weakest, I will break free.'_

'_Try all you want. I would rather die than allow you to be free again.'_

'_And if that means giving up your life and future?'_

He scowled, shutting the demon from his mind and barring it from him with his inner walls. _'He's right... But, I have to do something. I will not allow anything to happen to her. She's... everything. Nothing is going to stop me. Nothing...'_

* * *

><p>The door yanked open, revealing a whistling Katsuo to a rather irritated Fang. The L'Cie kept her face impassive with an air of arrogance like she usually did when confronted by people she didn't like. "Ever heard of knocking?" Then brunette asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she, once again, looked out the window.<p>

A small chuckle escaped the man's lips as he crossed his arms. "So, did you really think we wouldn't find you and your family?"

Fang shrugged. "Can't say I'm not, can't say I am. All I know," she said, turning her head to look at her imprisoner with smug eyes, "is that you only have me, a little ol' L'Cie."

Katsuo closed his mouth, holding back a growl at the woman's reminder. "Well, I'm sorry darlin' but the Superiors didn't give me much choice in this." He pulled out a few chains, whistling softly.

'_Time to have some fun,' _"Hm, Superiors. I bet you just love that. Being an underdog to them when all you want is more power," she mused, barely glancing over at him.

He grabbed her arms, putting them into the electronic cuffs and chaining them to the wall. "I'd rather not be the one with power right now," he said, leering at her. "Thanks to you L'Cie, people have been attempting to assassinate all those in power. Not that they've worked."

"Not that they won't stop," she retorted, both of them trying to stare the other down.

Katsuo leaned closer to her ear. "Not my problem," he said and pulled back. He whistled some more, walking over to the door. "Since I won't be of much use trying to get you to talk, they'll try something different I'm sure. I just can't wait to see what it is."

"Neither can I," Fang agreed, holding back a smirk as she relaxed against the chains. "Apparently you aren't strong enough to break me, so they're going to send in some other goons to try to get to me."

Katsuo's hand froze on the door handle, his muscles tensing with the words the woman spoke. Fang smirked to herself. _'Gotcha,' _"You'll want to wish them luck, because they're going to need it."

The man merely opened the door, turning to look at her with his brown eyes. Even though he was smirking his eyes showed indignation, he didn't say a word as he exited.

Fang blinked for a moment. _'Why does he seem so familiar?' _she thought as she began examining the electronic cuffs carefully.

* * *

><p>"Gaara?"<p>

The Ichibi turned his head in the direction his name was called, blinking his thoughts away. "You should be sleeping Vanille," he reminded her, which earned him a pout from the older girl.

"I'm not tired, besides I remembered something that I was going to tell you," she said, stretching and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

The Kazekage sighed and closed his eyes. _'I never realized how similar those two are…' _"What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"It's about Fang," she said as she pulled a blanket around her shoulders to stay warm. "She turned sixteen March thirteenth," she looked over at the red-head's shocked blink with a slight smile on her lips. "She's always been one to celebrate others birthdays rather than her own, and judging by the look in your eyes I was right to assume that she didn't tell you her birthday."

Vanilla laughed quietly and smiled fondly. "She didn't even remember it was her birthday till I walked into her room with her presents," and then she sighed and frowned slightly. "The only bad thing about this birthday is that she's finally sixteen."

"Why is that bad?" he asked.

"Because, that means she's no longer just a girl, in Oerba we come of age at sixteen," she answered softly. "She's already been an adult for over half her life and she never really had the chance to be a kid, now she can't," she said with a sigh. "Sixteen is when Ragnarok reaches maturity and becomes a more active side in us. I was the lucky one of the bunch and was blessed with the Divine deity of Ragnarok, which is a lot more easy to control when compared to the Damned hellion that Fang possesses. If Fang wouldn't have had her mark burned off then her birthday would've been spent in pain from her trying to repress that side of her."

Gaara nodded, knowing all too well what it was like trying to contain a demon. "So she's sixteen now."

"Yeah," she said as she snuggled into the blanket and lied back down. "She's an official adult now, and Ragnarok is going to be stronger since the two parts have matured," Vanille yawned and curled up next to her snoring boyfriend. "She's going to be alright, she won't let anyone control her or keep her tied down for long. She'll come back, she promised," she mumbled as she fell asleep.

Gaara watched Vanille as she slept before he looked up at the sky and the stars. _'She promised.'_

The door swung open and two men stepped into the room, quickly grasping Fang's arms and holding them tightly as they unlocked the shackles. The brunette glared at them before her eyes flickered to the doorway where four others stood in the uniformed helmet and suits of PSICOM. "So this is the brigade that was sent to interrogate me? I'm not impressed."

"Be quiet, L'Cie. You'll talk when we tell you to talk."

"Wow, you're even more stupid if you think I'm going to listen to you," she retorted with a snicker as she was dragged out of the room and to a separate interrogation chamber. Two of the officers stayed outside while two more entered with the previous ones. The two escorting her pushed her down on a chair and pulled her arms behind her back before re-securing them in the cuffs.

"We'll wait outside in case things get out of hand," one of the officers said as the other one nodded in agreement.

"Very well, I'm sure this won't take long," an interrogator said as the doors slide shut and isolated the four men with the single L'Cie. The men turned to look at her with cold eyes. "I'm going to make this simple for you. Tell us what you know and we won't use force."

"Oh, is that all? Heaven and Hell forbid if I was hurt by Cocoon scum," she retorted breezily. "Try all you want. I know nothing."

"You're in no position to be stubborn, L'Cie," another reminded her with irritation.

"And you're in no position to try to intimidate me. I'll be honest, you don't scare me one bit," she said, crossing her legs with a smirk.

They surrounded her in a semi-circle and the one facing her walked up to her and grabbed her hair and pulled her head back to look up at him. "You should be."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang leaned over the safety rail that kept Oerbians from tumbling off the cliff and into the ocean below. Her eyes looked out across the water, the blood red sun setting over the horizon as the sky changed navy and bright orange rays bled through. The nine-year-old sighed and lightly ran a finger behind her ear where a new scar was forming from her most recent fight of the day. 'All I wanted ta do was play hide-and-seek with 'em,' she thought to herself sullenly as she crossed her arms over the bar.<strong>_

'_**I don' even see why I try anymore, every time they see me they either call me a monster or try ta beat me up," the girl sighed softly and closed her eyes. "I still shouldn't have fought back, I deserve it anyways." **_

_**The sound of footsteps sounded behind her and her head automatically turned toward the noise without completely facing it. "If you're lookin' for a fight, I'm not interested. I haven' done anythin' ta bother ya, so just leave me alone," she snapped. The movement stopped, no sound of the person leaving alerted her that she still had company, which made annoyance flush through her. The small brunette straightened up and turned around, fully intent on telling whoever was intruding on her isolation off, but her voice failed her when she saw who it was. **_

_**A man with dark hair and even darker eyes looked down at her with mild curiosity. "I wasn' lookin' for a figh' young lady."**_

_**Fang blinked up at him, hiding the shock that accompanied the man's not only civil, but somewhat kind words. Her mind went back to the fight that occurred earlier once she managed to place where she'd met the man. "Ya broke up the fight I was in earlier," she said, which earned her a nod from the man.**_

"_**I overheard wha' started the whole thing, does tha' happen often?" The girl shrugged and the man walked up beside her and leaned against the railing, his eyes looking up at the sky. "I've never seen a young one with such spirit before, and such anger," he said, glancing down at her. "You're one of the carriers of Ragnarok, aren' ya'?"**_

"_**I don't see how tha's any of your business," the brunette said back bitingly. **_

_**Instead of taking offence at the girl's tone, he chuckled. "There's tha' spirit I saw earlier," he looked down at the girl as she stared back up at him with empty eyes that hid the confusion that was going through her. "I wan' ta make ya my apprentice."**_

* * *

><p>Fang growled and glared up at the man. "You have three seconds to get your hands off of me before I do it for you."<p>

The man tightened his grip challengingly. "You're outnumbered four to one and you're chained up. I don't see how you possibly think you can get out of this."

"One…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang blinked up at him. "Why would ya' want me ta be an apprentice of yours?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.<strong>_

"_**I see potential in ya, if ya follow my rules and train ya can become stronger," he answered, studying the girl's expression as it began to turn angry.**_

"_**Why don't ya stop lyin' ta me and tell me the real reason ya want me ta become your apprentice," she bit out, crossing her arms over her chest. **_

_**The man blinked down at her before a slight smile crossed his lips. "You're very good at readin' people. I'm impressed," he said. "Ta answer your question, I see a lil' of myself in ya. I was always bein' bullied and all tha' when I was younger. I want ta help ya, but only if ya follow my rules."**_

* * *

><p>"Two…"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Ya can never let anyone tell ya what ta do or be controlled. If ya agree, I will teach ya how ta control yourself and I'll train ya ta fight." <strong>_

* * *

><p>"Three…"<p>

* * *

><p>"…<em><strong>Alright…" she said, "Wha' other rules are there?"<strong>_

_**The tall man smiled and faced the young girl. "Close your eyes." **_

_**The girl thought about it before she nodded and slowly closed her eyes, not fully sure if she trusted the man in front of her. **_

_**Ariko noticed the girls mistrust and he sighed internally. 'This is going to take a while, but if it will help her in the long run it'll be worth it,' he thought. **_

"_**You will not be allowed to bend under pressure and give in to what your enemies want…"**_

* * *

><p>Fang used her legs to lift the chair up and dropped it back down, breaking the legs off of it and forcing the man that was holding on to her hair to topple over when his balance was lost. The brunette then jerked her head out of his grasp and flipped herself back and grabbed the chain that was connected to the chair and her wrists.<p>

She curled her body and quickly maneuvered her legs through her circled arms so that they would lie like they normally did to her sides. The other men quickly rushed at her and she swung the chair that was still connected to her by the chain around, sending one of them flying back into the wall. His head smacked against the metal with enough force to put a dent in the wall and to smash part of his skull, a trail of blood going down the barrier as he crumpled to his knees, unconscious.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Ya mus' be willin' ta give up all connections tha' ya have ta people, friends, family-"<strong>_

"_**No. I won' give tha' up," the girl interrupted, her jaw clenching. "I refuse ta give up my sista. She's the only thang tha's kept me alive for two years. I'm not gonna abandon her."**_

_**Ariko blinked. "If ya don' then she can be used agains' ya-"**_

"_**I don' care," the brunette replied with stubbornness. "If they try ta harm her in any such way, then tha'll give me more motivation ta protect her. I won't let her be harmed."**_

_**The man evaluated the girl's tensed body, noticing the dead-set tone she had in her voice when she talked. "…If ya can't break off the connection ya have, then ya must be willing ta put your life on the line ta save them."**_

"_**I'd tear down the sky if it'd save her," Fang said fiercely. **_

_**The sensei nodded his head. "Then repeat after me…"**_

* * *

><p>The other three came after her, one of them grabbing her arm from behind and pulling her back into his chest. A low growl emanated from the woman as she threw her elbow up into the man's nose and then again into his jugular, causing him to choke and loosen his hold on her. Another man brought his fist up aimed at the brunettes head, but she dodged it and it connected with his comrade's already bloody face and he fell back, knocked out from the force of it.<p>

Fang quickly dodged another punch and she dropped down to one leg, swinging the other out to connect with the back of the man's knees, sending him down on his back. The other avoided her leg and grabbed the chain jerked it, causing her to stumble forward on to her knees. In retaliation the woman twisted on to her back and slammed her heal down into the jugular of the officer that got his knees knocked out by her. A sickening crack sounded in the room along with a strangled cry of pain the man let escape.

The brunette grabbed the chain that the only man left standing was holding on to and she quickly circled it around his wrists and pulled him down on the ground. With a single strike to the side of the neck he was unconscious and his body fell limp partially on top of his partner.

The L'Cie sat up and pulled at the chains that were still clamped around her wrists. She glanced around at the bodies in the room, her eyes focusing on the sight of their blood more than what was needed. Her heart rate began to relax as she stood and casually walked to the bolted door and leaned against the frame.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Ya will not bow."<strong>_

* * *

><p>Fang looked up at the camera in the corner and crossed her arms over her chest lazily.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I will not bow…" she repeated quietly. <strong>_

* * *

><p>The door opened, revealing an unusually stoic Katsuo. His cold eyes swept the interrogation room, taking in the unconscious bodies and the blood that now decorated the walls and floor before they stared at the woman leaning ever-so casually by the door.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Ya will not break." <strong>_

* * *

><p>Fang looked back at the man with piercing eyes as his own seemed to harden. The brunette flipped her hair out of her eyes and smirked over at him.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I will not break…" <strong>_

* * *

><p>Katsuo grabbed the chain and dragged her out of the room, quickly depositing her with another uniformed officer. "Take her to her room," he bit out. "And make sure she doesn't get out."<p>

The PSICOM officer nodded and placed the butt of the gun to the L'Cie and nudged gently two times. Fang blinked and started walking, her face carefully controlled in an emotionless mask as to not let her shock be known, or her recognition. The journey to the captive's room was short, the officer typed in a code on the lock and the doors slid open long enough for to push the brunette in before it slammed shut and locked.

Fang stared at the now closed door, a small smirk gracing her lips. _'Two nudges, eh? I guess that means I have two more weeks in this place before the plan goes in to action.' _The woman walked over to the window and looked out of the glass at the busy city. _'You'd think they would have figured out that Light was a L'Cie by now. At least it's not only me on the inside now.' _

* * *

><p>Lightning paced down the length of the hallway before she turned on her heel and started going back. <em>'It's a good thing I have such a high ranking or I wouldn't have been recommended for this job.' <em>The pinkette walked past Fang's door and had to keep from sighing, _'And she's the same as she always was. She still has that fire in her, even after everything she went through…' _

The officer turned the corner and promptly stopped as Katsuo shot one of the guards that were standing outside of the interrogation room, rage clearly written on his face. Light sighed internally and turned, walking back down the length she just came from. _'Still getting under everyone's skin, too.' _


	10. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

*Chapter Ten. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?*

Gaara glanced around the strange city, narrowing his eyes. He stopped, looking around.

Snow stepped up beside him, his hands behind his head. "Welcome to Cocoon, home sweet home."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Ohhhhhhhhh."

Sakura shook her head. "Don't even think about it, Naruto."

"But, Sakura-chan-"

The sound of a hand meeting skin resonated through the air.

"Owwww..."

Shikamaru sighed softly. "How troublesome..."

Sazh and Hope looked at Naruto with eyebrows raised in question. "Is there something wrong with him?"

Gaara shook his head, taking a few steps forward. "It's just how he is, especially when Sasuke's not around."

They nodded and began walking toward Cocoon. "So how are we going to go about this?" Sazh asked.

Snow shrugged. "I was just thinking we run in with guns blazin, just like old times."

Shikamaru crossed his arms, thinking. "Where's the most likely place they would hold a L'Cie? I doubt they'd hold her in the city."

"Probably somewhere like where they kept Serah," Snow said.

"Serah?" Naruto asked curiously.

Snow smiled. "She's my fiancée'."

Sakura blinked, putting a hand on her hip. "You're engaged?"

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I have been for a while. If only Light would just accept that..."

Vanille smiled slightly. "I still can't believe the two of them are related. They act so different."

Snow nodded. "That's for sure."

Shikamaru turned slightly, glancing behind them. "We should start moving. We're getting some stares."

"Snow, pull your gloves down before we get into Cocoon. We don't need to be caught right when we walk in." Hope reminded his.

Snow glanced down and sighed, pulling his glove on tighter. "Happy now?"

"Yes."

Every one of the L'Cies shook their heads and began walking.

"Come on Slowpokes!" Vanille called back at them, already having walked a couple yards ahead of them.

"Vanille, slow down!" Sazh called out, sighing."Just can't catch a break."

Shikamaru shook his head, sighing softly. He started to follow after her. Sakura grabbed one of Naruto's arms, dragging him along. "Come on, Naruto. Stop staring. We're supposed to blend in, remember?"

"Like that's gonna happen," he muttered in response, glancing up pointedly at her hair.

She glared at him as she continued after the rest. "You're walking a very fine line, Naruto."

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Aren't I always?"

Gaara rolled his eyes, settling into the rear.

"Hey you two back there stop your bickering! And Naruto no one will notice her hair that much, Light and Serah both have pink hair and they blend in just fine," Sazh yelled back at them.

Snow smiled and looked up the sky, beginning to think about Serah. "I wonder if I'll get to see her."

Vanille smiled and started skipping. "I'm sure you will, Snow. If Light is there, we know Serah is usually close by."

Snow smiled even wider. "But until then, we have a different person to find. Do you know where Light said she was stationed at?"

Sazh nodded his head. "She said something about Orphan and Dysley, so I'm guessing she's in a PSICOM base or the Sanctum bulding."

"How long would it take us to get there?" Shikamaru asked softly, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"It depends."

"On?"

"Which one it's at."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Which one do you think it is?"

"Well, it was Nabaat that brought her in and she's a Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of PSICOM, so it'd be smart to think she was in a base. But she also has some high connections with those in charge of Cocoon, so it's also possible that she's being kept at Sanctum."

"Wouldn't it be faster to find her if we all split up? Each group can take one of them," Sakura gestured to the L'Cie, "and search. And if we did find her, no doubt there's going to be guards. I'm sure we'd know when we found her."

"I don't think it would be...When groups split up then we'd all have to find each other and then there's the possibility of being captured."

"Not necessarily," Gaara said softly.

"For you guys, no, but for L'Cie they're executed on the spot," Sazh mumbled. "That Nabaat is one crazy lady. She still holds public executions for L'Cie..."

"A witch hunt," Hope said, sighing. "That's why we all split up in the first place, so that it would be harder for them to find us."

"That didn't work too well," Snow said with a shrug.

Vanille stopped walking and turned to them, her arms crossed. "Will you stop being so negative! It won't help us out any ya know. If we want miracles, we have to be the ones to make them happen."

"If they execute L'Cie publicly, why haven't they killed Fang yet?" Shikamaru pointed out. "If they're trying to get information out of her, we all know how pointless that is. And if they do go ahead with an execution, it'd be all over."

All of the L'Cie cringed slightly and glanced at each other. Vanille looked away, lightly biting her lip, her eyes flickering back to everyone else.

"We don't know," Snow said, his eyes glancing over at Vanille and quickly away again. "We need to get going. Come on."

"Is there any way we can hack into one of their networks?"

"Light already has. Sazh has a transmitter with him, once we get within signal we can have contact with Light and she can tell us where they're at."

Shikamaru nodded, lost in thought.

"There might be a faster way to finding them," Gaara muttered, glancing up at Shikamaru.

"How?" Hope asked curiously. "We can't take a portal until we get within reach and that won't help if we don't know where they are."

Shikamaru sighed softly. "If you think it'll help..."

"It's better than walking around doing nothing," Gaara replied sharply. He quickly covered his right eye and pulled some sand from his gourd. He sent it flying above the city. "Third Eye Technique." The sand formed an eye, and he used it to peer around the city.

All of the L'Cie stared at the eye with confusion. "What's he doing?" Hope asked.

"He's using that to see," Naruto answered, smirking slightly.

"To see? Like he can see everything with that thing?"

He nodded. "Yep."

Gaara pulled his hand away, blinking several times before pointing.

"Did you see her? Is she okay? Was sh-"

"Vanille, calm down." Snow said, wrapping an arm around her.

Vanille nodded and looked up at the sky. "Okay."

"I saw a group of soldiers mobilizing, along with a woman."

"What did she look like?"

"She had pink hair, a sword, and looked angry."

"Yep. That's Light," Snow said with a smile.

"Mobilized. Hm, we need to get in contact with her then," Sazh said, pulling out a thin transmitter. He started cursing. "Damn signal, you'd think with all this technology I'd at least get three bars of service."

Gaara walked over to Shikamaru, whispering in his ear softly. Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed even closer together. "Are you sure?"

"I think I would know otherwise."

He sighed softly. "How troublesome..."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Vanille asked as Sazh was walking around, the transmitter held high as he walked around.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nothing."

Naruto glanced over at Gaara, raising an eyebrow. The Kazekage shook his head, walking away from them all.

"Hey! No splitting up!" Vanille said loudly, walking after him.

"Got it!" Sazh said, tapping some keys on the screen as Snow and Hope gathered around him.

Gaara turned slightly toward Vanille, frowning. "I'm not splitting up, Vanille. I need some to think."

"Oh, okay." She smiled and ran back to Sazh trying to push through Snow. "Let me through, I want to talk to Lightning!"

Shikamaru crossed his arms and watched them, slightly amused.

Gaara sighed, sitting down and leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

_"Not now, Shukaku."_

_"But why not? He's here. We both knew he wasn't the one who perished when Orochimaru betrayed him."_

_"That's not what's-"_

_"Important? Listen to you!"_

_"Shukaku-"_

_"What? I'm here and I'm not leaving anytime soon. I don't care if you waste your time on a woman. It just makes it easier for me when she leaves you."_

"Gaara?" Naruto asked quietly, kneeling beside him.

He opened one eye, looking up at his friend. "Yes?"

"I think we're getting ready to move..."

Gaara sighed, nodding. Naruto smiled softly, standing up and offering him a hand. The red-head took it, walking after him slowly back to the rest of the party.

"Okay, Light says they have her being held in the same building that secretly houses Orphan. The only difference is that she's in a heavily guarded area that's on one of the lower levels," Snow said with a smile.

Shikamaru nodded, crossing his arms.

"That and from what she told me Fang is giving them as much hell as possible. Apparently during an interrogation she took out a team of four and just sat there, unrestrained until a supervisor came and got her," Snow snickered slightly. "That, and she seems to be driving him insane. Light caught him mumbling about her after another failed interview."

Sazh shook his head. "That girl is going to get herself killed."

"Nah, she knows when to draw the line. She just likes getting under her enemies skin."

Vanille sighed. "At least we know where she is now..."

Hope nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should start going. Light said that they were going to be trying to get out in the early morning."

"Lead the way."

"Follow the hero everyone!" Snow said as he started walking, Hope rolling his eyes behind him.

Naruto chuckled softly, nudging Sakura. "Who's that sound like?"

"Just what we need... Another Gai..." she muttered, shaking her head.

Vanille twirled her binding rod absentmindedly as she walked alongside Sazh. "Ready or not, here we come."

* * *

><p>The past three weeks had felt like Hell to Katsuo. To him it felt like she had been with them for years rather than weeks. She was beyond insufferable! No matter what comment he made the L'Cie always had something to retort with. Always keeping a note of arrogance and superiority in her tone, and he was sure she was doing it just to mess with him. Katsuo carefully coached a calm expression on his face as he punched in the code to the woman's room. The man slipped inside, smirking slightly. "Time for some fun."<p>

The L'Cie was chained to the wall, her arms bound above her head from her earlier interrogation. She lazily opened an eye and closed it, showing her indifference. "What do you want?"

"Just to have a little fun..." He said as he walked over to her and gently put his hands on her face, forcing her to look at him.

Fang managed to keep herself from flinching at the man's intrusive touch. _'You fucker, you're so lucky that this is my last day here or else I wouldn't be so warm hearted enough to let you keep your hands.'_

He smirked, starting his genjutsu "I know what you fear the most..."

"Yeah, so?"

"I can show you."

"Why would I need to see it? I already know what it is. I've already played out the scenarios in my mind a million times. Nothing you show can possibly be any worse than what I've come up with," was the only answer he got out of her, her eyes still closed as she carried herself away into her mind. '_I don't need your help to see what I fear. I see it every time I close my eyes.'_

Karsuo smirked and started his genjutsu, filling the woman's mind with images of her sister dying. The sound of Vanille's tortured screams filling the brunette's head. Slowly it began to build up, becoming more realistic as Vanille started to scream Fang's name. Outside the brunette seemed calm, but on the inside she felt like she was dying.

After nearly an hour of that he pulled his hands away, snapping the genjutsu off as he started walking out. _'Still no reaction, maybe she's a sociopath.' _

"Hey, you forgot something," the L'Cie called out behind him, her voice coming out as strong as it always did.

"What's that?" he asked, hiding how peeved he was that his genjutsu didn't seem to affect her at all.

"You forgot how you used to be full of power and are now stuck here taking orders, trying desperately to cling to that control that you once had. Sure you're trying to hide it, but I see straight through you. I can see how angry it makes you that you can't even break a single girl. And this isn't a onetime deal. This has been going on for weeks without any progress."

"Are you patronizing me?" Katsuo bit out as Fang finally managed to irritate him enough to get under his skin.

She smirked as he walked toward her angrily. "No, I was insulting you."

A strong fist collided with the woman's mouth, a slow stream of blood flowing from it. Just as quickly as he had struck her she retaliated, bringing her legs up and kicking him in the chest and knocking the breath out of him. The older man stumbled back, clutching his chest.

While he was preoccupied the L'Cie had pulled herself up and flipped herself so that her feet were touching the wall. With a one last twist the chain broke along the stress fracture that she had worked into it. With a triumphant cry she propelled herself off the wall and landed next to Katsuo. The man looked at her in shock as she brought her hands around and cracked her bound hands to his jaw, sending him down.

The brunette smirked. "My name isn't L'Cie or Thing," she said. "It's Oerba Yun Fang, bastard," with that said the woman ran to the door and knocked on it three times.

In a matter of seconds it opened, revealing a serious looking woman with pink hair. "Put this on," she ordered, holding out an extra uniform. "You were early."

The brunette rolled her eyes and slid into the uniform with distaste. "Good to see you too, Light. And for your information, I didn't have much of a choice. I saw my chance and I took it."

"Hn. Let's get going," her companion said as she put her gunblade into combat mode.

Fang nodded and followed the shorter of the two out of the cell and ran down the hall. They barely made it when a group from PSICOM blocked their way. Fang glanced over at Lightning and raised an eyebrow, earning a slight tilt of a head in return. She smiled slightly and stepped forward. "Well, well, well, what have we got here?"

* * *

><p>Sazh tapped on the transmitter, inserting virus into the computer system and setting a loop on all the cameras. "Okay, Snow."<p>

Snow went to the key pad on the door and inserted the code, letting the door slide open. "Come on."

Vanille and Hope rushed in, both of them keeping close to the walls. "Clear on my side," Hope said as Vanille nodded in agreement.

Sazh walked in and Snow followed him. "Well are you guys coming or not?"

Naruto looked over at Gaara, grimacing. "I don't think so..."

Shikamaru sighed. "You guys go ahead. We'll make sure the area stays clear."

Sakura pulled on her gloves, then cracked her fingers. "Let's get this thing started."

"Eh...have you guys ever come in contact with guns before?"

"What's that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

"...Sazh, show them what a gun is."

"...They've never seen a gun before?"

Snow shook his head and Sazh walked over, pulling his gun free. "Well, you see kids these are not toys. You pull the trigger and bullets fly out of it and cause huge gaping wounds in vital organs that cause people to bleed out and die."

Naruto looked at it curiously and Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh boy..."

"Just don't get shot and you should be good, okay?"

Sazh nodded his head, "And if you get your hands on a gun, you aim and then pull the trigger. Don't aim at yourself or your friends or else bad things will happen, got it?"

Naruto nodded. "Okay!"

Hope sighed. "I don't know if that is a good idea, Sn-"

"Oh they'll be fine!" Snow said, waving Hope off. "Why don't you and Vanille stay here with them? That way if they get lost they'll have people with them that know the place."

Hope looked over at Vanille and nodded, "Yeah, we can do that."

"Well then let's get going before Light puts the plan into action."

Shikamaru sighed, pulling out his knives. "You guys better hurry.

Snow nodded at the lazy genius, "Just don't fall asleep on us."

"Don't plan on it."

Snow swiped his thumb across his jaw, a smile pulling at his lips, "Come on Sazh, Gaara, we have a damsel in distress we need to save."

Gaara nodded, walking after them and Naruto smiled, putting his arms behind his head. "This is gonna be fun."

Sakura rolled her eyes, glancing over at Shikamaru. "What's the plan?"

* * *

><p>Snow took the transmitter from Sazh and tapped lightly. "Okay, we need to go up two floors and to the farthest corridor on the eastern side."<p>

Sazh drew out his guns and started to walk in the direction of the stairs. "Can't a place this big get some elevators?"

Gaara rolled his eyes, sending a small trickle of sand ahead of them and up the stairs.

A collection of shouts and gun shots went off on the upper floors, causing Snow and Sazh to look up above them.

"Looks like the plans starting a little early," Snow said as he started running up to the stairs, Sazh right behind him.

Gaara walked quickly after them, his eyes blazing dully.

"Duck!" Sazh yelled as a group of PSICOM officers ran toward them. Snow did as he was told as the guns started going off.

Gaara narrows his eyes, sand stopping the bullets in their tracks.

Sazh and Snow both glanced back at him before beginning to attack. Snow's hand glowed blue as he punched an officer, sending him into the wall. It started to crack, and Sazh covered him from behind. Gaara carefully sent the sand into their guns, keeping them from firing at them. Snow grabbed a fallen gun and started to make his way through the officers, both his and Sazh's guns going off when they needed them to.

Gaara slowly made his way forward, grimacing at the sound the machines emitted.

"The faster we get them the faster we get out," Sazh said, beginning up to the third floor with the other two following him in silence.

A series of shots went off, the sound of shouting becoming louder.

"Light!"

"I have it."

Another shot went off, quickly followed by a collection of shouts.

"I meant them not me!"

"I wasn't aiming at you."

"You almost shot my leg off!"

"Stop being so dramati-"

"Heads!"

Snow and Sazh both sighed as they stepped out onto the hallway. Both of them let out startled cries as they quickly bent down as someone flew through the air.

Gaara blinked, remaining on the stairwell.

"A little warn-Light!" Snow fell down the stairs backwards as a fist collided with his jaw.

An impassive woman with pink hair looked down at him. "I thought you were an officer."

Snow grumbled and pushed himself up. "Of course you did."

"Down!"

Lightning got down as another solider went soaring through the air as more shouts were heard.

"Hello, A little help right around now would be appreciated," an annoyed Fang said from out of view, more men adding to the pile that had started.

Light rolled her eyes, pulling out her gunblade and started firing off shots. "Happy now?"

"Very much so, Sunshine. Are you ever going to take that stick out of your ass?"

The pink haired woman's jaw clenched as she ignored the other ones statement. Her eyes turned toward Gaara, her eyebrow rising. "Who're you?"

"Coming through."

Lightning ducked down again as this time Fang went flying through the air, blue sparks crawling across her as she crossed over to the other side of the fight. Sazh ran after her, shooting at unseen assailants.

"A friend," he said softly, sending a stream of sand down the hall, trapping each soldier in his place.

More shouts came down the hall and more shots were fired off before the sound of shattered glass reached their ears and they were plunged into darkness.

"Great..." Sazh groaned, the chocobo tweeting excitedly from its place in his hair.

Lightning turned, the lights on her armor glowing on her shoulder as she fired back shots. Snow finally managed to get back up the stairs, an impressive bruise already forming on his chin. "Light, have you been working out?"

The pinkette ignored him, her eyes scanning through the darkness. "I think we got them all on this level."

"Good, now can we go?" Sazh asked, "I really want nothing to do wi-"

"Sazh, just shut up will you," Fang interrupted from her place behind the man.

Gaara glanced up at the next level, his eyes narrowing as he sensed a familiar chakra.

Light started walking in the direction of their voices, Snow following after her. "So, is Sera-"

"This isn't the time for that."

"Oh come on, Light!"

The sound of a fist hitting flesh followed by a groan was the only response they got from the woman.

"I should be asking you why you brought extra people Snow," Light said lowly after a few seconds.

"Well, you can't really argue with two of them...They have a right to be here..."

"What?" Fang asked, glaring through the darkness at the direction of Snow's voice.

"He brought a friend of yours, and I also saw Vanille over the transm-"

"You What?" Fang snarled.

Gaara rolled his eyes, moving quietly down the hall.

"Snow, what the hell were you thinking letting Vanille come? She's preg-"

"You think she wanted to be left back there? She's just as stubborn as you sometimes, Fang."

A sigh and another scuffle were heard as Fang nearly tripped over a body. "Snow, you can't possibly be dumb enough to not figure it out by now what…You know what? Never mind. Who else is here?"

"Who do you think, Fang?" Gaara said softly, heading farther down the hall.

"I'm trying not to think at the moment because everything is going straight downhill." She murmured under her breath. She sighed and looked around in the darkness. "Let's just get out of here before we get caught."

The red-head snuck upstairs, looking around carefully. An amused chuckle reached his ears. "Hello, Gaara. You were the last person I expected to come here."

"And, you were the last person I expected to be alive."

"Well, like father like son, isn't that right, Gaara?"

* * *

><p>Fang looked around as everyone started walking away, "Gaara...?" Nothing answered her and she called out a little louder, still receiving no answer. Fang stopped walking. "Hey guys, we're missing one. Hold up for a second." She called out to the group ahead of her as she started walking down the hallway.<p>

* * *

><p>Katsuo chuckled at his son's silence. "Some people don't change. How're your brother and sister?"<p>

"Leave them out of this," Gaara hissed between clenched teeth.

"Looks like someone's getting upset, and you and I both know what happens when you get upset."

Gaara glared at him, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

* * *

><p>"Gaara?" Fang started walking up the stairs, her body protesting with the movement as her muscles continued to burn from the strain of the fights and the continuous interrogations. "Gaara?"<p>

* * *

><p>Katsuo laughed, shaking his head. "You never were capable of controlling yourself. Let it out, Gaara. Just let it all out."<p>

Sand started to swirl around Gaara as his eyes started to burn.

"That's it. Just a little more..."

"Gaara, what are you-" Fang stopped at the foot of the stairs as her eyes bore into Katsuo. "Fuck..."

Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, reappearing behind his father. Katsuo smirked, throwing an arm backwards to knock him in the chest. The smaller caught his elbow and flung him around, sending him flying to the wall.

"Gaara, stop!" Fang yelled as footsteps began to follow after her.

"Good. Very good. You did learn something while I was away."

Gaara stalked forward, sand flowing quickly out of his gourd.

Fang started running toward Gaara, "Haste!" she shouted and snapped her fingers, magic coursing down her body as she propelled herself forward and in between Gaara and his father. "Stop this, it's not worth it. Can't you see that this is exactly what he wants you to do, Gaara! Don't let this happen, you control yourself, not him!"

Katsuo paused, looking between Fang and his son. "Wait, you know her?" His barking laughter echoed through the hallway. "Then you're both marked for death. But, I guess you're used to that, eh, Gaara?"

Fang ignored Katsuo's statement and walked closer to Gaara, "We need to get out of here before it's too late. They can't get ahold of Vanille and I or el-" Fang's eyes widened in shock as tendrils of liquid wrapped around her and pulled her back into a room, the doors slamming shut behind her as the L'Cie began running after her.

"Fang!" Snow yelled as he watched his cousin disappear into another part of the building. Lightning and Sazh quickly joined him as they all ran to where she was pulled.

Sazh growled and kicked the door, "Just can't catch a break can we!"

Gaara turned, and then turned back to his father. He growled, torn between what to do. "You want this? Then, you can have it." He disappeared again, moving farther down the hall. He called all his sand to him, and snarled as Shukaku started to form.

Katsuo smirked, pulling out a few kunai. "Time to test your new skills."

Snow and Sazh began to try to pry the door open while Lightning grabbed the phone. "Vanille, get to the fourth floor immediately. We have a problem."

Shukaku chuckled, clawing at Katsuo. "I'm finally free..."

"Light what's go-" Vanille's eyes widened as they landed on Shukaku as Hope stopped in his tracks.

Naruto cursed softly, clenching his kunai tightly. "Gaara..."

Lightning watched in shock. "What the hell..."

Sakura looked over at Naruto in shock.

The blonde nin grimaced, noticing the other man near Gaara. "Is that-"

"The Fourth Kazekage," Shikamaru answered, crossing his arms.

"So, he wasn't really killed by Orochimaru then..." Sakura muttered, watching as Shukaku continued to lunge toward Katsuo.

"Nope," Naruto said vehemently, glaring at the former Kazekage. "That's probably what set him off."

Katsuo narrowly avoided an attack to his head, ducking aside and encroaching on his son's ground. Shukaku roared and hit the floor, causing it to shudder. The mini earthquake caused Katsuo stumbled, giving the demon the chance to catch him in his grip.

"Vanille, Hope, get away from there!" Lightning yelled as she watched the exchange.

Vanille snapped out of her stupor and ran toward Light, her eyes scanning the room, "...Where's Fang?"

"In here somewhere!" Sazh said in irritation as he tried to force the door open.

Sakura glanced over at the door, tilting her head. "I have an idea..."

* * *

><p>Fang struggled against the hold of the liquid, but it just held onto her tighter. The coils had cut into her skin, causing blood to seep out. The brunette struggled against the hold, the bindings tightening against her chest as one of her ribs cracked, "There's no use struggling against in Oerba Yun Fang, you can't get free." A cold voice greeted her. A hand flew at her, brandishing a needle that stuck her in the chest. Her eyes widened as Yaag emptied the syringe straight into her heart, causing her pupils to dilate.<p>

Whatever was in the vial caused the teen's muscles to contract and burn, her heart picking up in double time. Her body started contorting against the restrains as they continued to cut into her skin, the blood flowing down her split skin. Her lungs cried out for oxygen that wouldn't enter, her nerves beginning to send bolts of electricity and fire through her body. The pain was too much for her and she unwillingly let loose a scream.

* * *

><p>Vanille's eyes widened as her sister's cry rang through her ears. She ran over to the door and started pounding on it. "Fang!"<p>

"Hey Vanille! Get back!" Sakura yelled, taking a few steps back. "I just hope they didn't reinforce this door... Or this is gonna hurt," her statement caused the older girl to jump back.

Shukaku hesitated, hearing the scream. His ears pricked up, and he glanced over at the door.

Katsuo smirked. "Never take your eyes off the enemy." He stabbed the demon in the leg, quickly rolling out of the way.

Sakura ran forward, her hand surrounded by green energy. She gave a fierce battle cry as she punched the door, air whipping around her head wildly. She pulled her hand back, taking a deep breath. "I got a hole in it at least..."

Shikamaru glanced over at Shukaku and Katsuo and pulled Vanille and Sakura aside. "Watch out!"

Shukaku roared and swung a great fist at the Fourth Kazekage, sending him flying into the door, the force of the impact knocking it the rest of the way off.

Shikamaru glanced down at Vanille worriedly. "You okay?"

Vanille nodded, quickly running to the door, "Fang!"

The liquid finally released its grip on the brunette as she fell to the floor, her chest heaving. Yaag looked over as to what was causing the commotion. "Ah, Vanille. It's been…three years, right?"

Vanille instantly took a step back, her eyes wide with recognition. "Yaag…What do you want?"

"Hm," he shrugged, "it's not necessarily what I want, but rather what the leader of Sanctum wants. I'm sure you can remember what that was, you were sixteen at the time."

"Stay away from her." Fang said as she got to her feet, her eyes burning.

Yaag smiled wryly. "You can still stand? You've gotten stronger since you were thirteen, most would've been too incapacitated by the pain. You always were a figh- "

Before anything else could happen, the top part of the building was blown up, shaking the floor. The debris knocked into people as it fell down, revealing an airship and a smiling Serah. "Hey guys!" she yelled from her seat. She glanced at Yaag and punched a few buttons, bullets soaring out of the weapons carrier and connecting with his chest.

Snow smiled and pointed at her. "That's my girl right there!"

Naruto slowly made his way toward Gaara, hands free. "Gaara. It's fine. Katsuo's gonna be out for a while. Just calm down." Shukaku turned, ears pricked forward. The sand started to fall away as Gaara began to calm.

The craft was carefully maneuvered to the hole and the walk way opened for them to board it. Lightning grabbed ahold of Fang and slide her arm over her shoulder, pulling her into the craft. "If you're not on in three minutes we're leaving you here," she warned. Not long after she said that everyone got on.

"Sazh, take over for me. I'm not that good at this," Serah said as she slid out of the pilot's chair. "No problem, shorty," he said as he took her place. "Alright everyone, hang on!" the pilot yelled as he jerked the controller, driving them off into the air.


	11. Show Your True Colors

*Chapter Eleven. Show Your True Colors*

The bottom of the ship smacked against solid ground and bounced back up, causing the passengers to stumble. Another smack had most of them crying out as they fell down. The craft scraped against the ground, coming to a stuttering halt as Sazh sighed in relief that he managed to stabilize it long enough to land them safely on the crystallized surface of Lake Bresha. "Alright, we're in Pulse people. Now, let's get on our way before Cocoon sends more cronies after us."

Everyone unsteadily got to their feet as Sazh turned the machine off. Snow knelt down beside Fang and slid and arm around her, causing the girl to protest as he stood and helped support her weight. Hope snaked an arm around the teens other side and together they helped her walk out of the craft. Naruto glanced over at them before he mimicked Snow's motions and helped Gaara limp down the ramp, Sakura walking closely behind followed by Shikamaru and Vanille. Together, Lighting and Sazh walked out with Serah last, the older pinkette watching the redhead emotionlessly as they took their first steps on the solid lake.

Naruto pulled his friend down beside him as he sat down, Sakura kneeling on the other side. Gaara tried to stand back up, but Sakura pushed him back down. "Stay. I can't help you if you're moving." Gaara just sighed softly as she gently set her hands around the gaping hole in his leg. After a while, Gaara gently shoved the medical nin away from him, standing up slowly. "Gaar-"

Naruto shushed her, he too standing up. Both of the boys exchanged looks as Naruto helped his friend outside the line of sight of everyone else before he set the sand nin down. "How long will it take?"

"I don't know," Gaara answered, quickly enveloping himself in a cloud of sand. It circled him completely, leaving him in a great sphere. Its surface bubbled angrily, almost as though it were boiling. The blonde teen sighed before he took a seat a ways away from the shield and relaxed a little.

On the other side of the crystal wall, Fang hissed softly as Snow and Hope began prodding her side, touching where the bruises were forming near her ribs. "You see that darkening of my skin Snow? Yeah, that's called bruising and it hurts when you touch it," she said bitingly.

Snow snickered. "You get irritable when you're injured."

The brunette didn't answer him back as she straightened up, using her grip on her lance to keep her balance. Fang looked around, a frown pulling at her lips when she noticed two people missing from the group. Her eyes focused on her best friend's back as the Guardian Corps officer made her way out of everyone's general sight. Curiosity pulled at the younger L'Cie as she began to unsteadily follow after her fellow comrade.

As the other rounded the corner she pulled out her gunblade and charged at the bubble of sand that blemished the crystal landscape. She swung her arm back and struck at the surface forcefully. The sand quieted for a second, the sand completely smooth. Then, the sand stuck back, a long tendril knocking her back against the crystal.

The pink-haired woman recovered quickly and began charging back, energy flowing down her weapon as she raised her arm for another attack and brought it down. Another arm reached out and grabbed her offending limb while something else struck at her stomach and pushed her back. The hand restraining hers kept it firmly in place as she tried to pull away from the gleaming turquoise eyes that were narrowed at her. "What are you doing, Fang?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the brunette retorted, her lance not budging as she readjusted her stance between the L'Cie and the sand ninja. "You should be thanking me for saving your life."

Lightning narrowed her eyes and tried to jerk out of the younger one's grip. "If you're trying to save lives then you might want to get rid of that thing first," she said coolly as their activities started to gain interest and the others began to join them cautiously.

"What thing?"

"Who do you think I'm talking about?" Light snarled. "That monster you're protecting."

Silence followed as all of the L'Cie looked at the older of the two girls with wide eyes, the tension in the atmosphere increasing dramatically. Lightning stared at her best friend, the brunette's eyes unusually empty before they flashed, which caused the pink-haired woman to tense.

"One, I want you to think about what you just said," Fang said in a cold tone. "Two, think about who you just said that to…" Her lance came back and slammed into Lightning, pushing her even further away. "Three, think about how stupid you are," she said with venom.

The two of them glared at each other, oblivious to the other onlookers. "He's not you, Fang," the other L'Cie reminded her friend.

"You're right, he's not," Fang answered. "He's better than me."

The pinkette blinked in confusion. _'Since when does Fang begin to think others are better than her?' _"Why do you say that?"

"Because," the brunette said with an air of authority and her well known stubbornness, "he's my boyfriend."

Light's mouth opened slightly in shock, but before she could say anything Fang raised a hand, "No questions," she ordered. "Not now." The brunette looked back around at her sister. "Get them all back to Konoha. Naruto and I will head that way once Gaara gets out."

Vanilla nodded and began to lead everyone else past them. Snow lightly put a hand on Lightning's shoulder, but it was quickly shrugged off. Her eyes flickering from the sand structure to her best friend, her eyes burning with mistrust as she walked away.

Once they were all out of sight, Fang sighed deeply as turned to face the sand bubble. Her legs buckled a little as she walked closer to the edge of the protective shield. A stab of pain racked though her as she knelt down beside it, using her lance to keep from falling over. "Take your time, Gaara," she said quietly, carefully lying down on the ground. "I'm not going anywhere."

The ground was hard and cold beneath the girl as she settled herself down on her side, her ribs protesting against the pressure the whole time. Her hand slid under the uniform she stole and she carefully pressed her hand against the puncture wound over her heart. _'What did they inject me with?' _she thought with worry. Whatever it was made her body feel like it was being pricked by a million needles, but at the same time it seemed like the pain didn't register in her mind.

The girl glanced over at Naruto who shockingly hadn't said a thing since they got off the ship. "Get some rest," she ordered the blonde.

Naruto shook his head. "It's alright, Fang. You need the rest more than I d-"

"I'm fine Naruto. You get as much rest as you can. If anyone comes after us, I'll get you up," she offered with a slight smile. Naruto seemed to realize that it wasn't a fight he was going to win and he lied down; resting his head on his crossed arms as he quickly drifted to sleep from his exhaustion.

Fang sighed internally and closed her own weary eyes, letting her senses take over as her body tried to relax from its stiff posture. For the first few hours the only thing that kept the brunette awake was the pulsating of her limbs and the racing heartbeat that accompanied it. It was still dark out when she suddenly sat up, nimbly getting into a crouched position. All of her nerves went on end and her blood flushed quickly through her body. "Naruto," she hissed.

Bright blue eyes opened to see Fang crouching in front of him, her shoulders tensed as if ready to sprint. He blinked in confusion only to stand up when he felt the presence of other people approaching. Naruto looked over in time to see a group of men come running behind a crystal barrier and started shooting at them, each bang accompanied by a bright flash of light that left him slightly disoriented after being woken up so quickly.

The brunette got to her feet as the bullets began to rain around her. _'Every time…'_ Her hands started shaking as the gunshots resonated in her ears. _'Every time my life starts to look up…They get in the way…' _Blood started pounding in her ears as her vision became fuzzier. _'Why can't they just leave me alone? Why must they go out of their way to ruin what I've tried so hard to accomplish? I don't want anything to do with Cocoon! All I want is to have my life back!' _The woman's heartbeat pounded erratically against her chest as if it was trying to get out. '_I won't let them control me anymore!'_ Her fists clenched tightly, her elongated nails cutting into the skin of her palm as the fury that she usually kept locked up tight started to come out, her eyes squeezing shut as hate spiked her blood. _'I refuse to lose everything that I have!'_

Naruto watched in shock as the bullets slowed on their journey to the pair, almost stopping completely mere yards away from them. A thin, semi-transparent barrier of electric blue was circling them and his eyes widened. He turned his gaze to the ridged form of Fang, his mouth dropping slightly when he noticed the steady drip of blood that was coming from the woman's fists.

Fang kept her head down and her eyes closed tight as she unclenched her hands and pushed the arms of the uniform up to her elbows. "You really…" She lifted her head up as a black swirling pattern flowed down her right arm and coiled around it like a tattoo. "Really…"

Naruto watched with impossibly wide eyes. _'That almost looks like a cursed mark,'_ he thought to himself as his oculars studied the markings. He looked up at the brunette's words and stared at the woman, her canines had gotten sharper and her muscles seemed to become more pronounced through her skin.

"Shouldn't piss me off," Fang snarled, her eyes opening in a glare. Naruto had to keep himself from gasping at shock at his friend's eyes. Her once blue-green irises were nothing but black pools that reminded him of his own boyfriend.

The officers stopped momentarily, skittishly looking around at one another at the sudden change in the brunette. The bullets that were stopped in the dense concentration of magic dropped to the ground as the barrier dissipated in the air, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. One of the men nodded their head and turned to face the teen. "By orders of Galenth Dysley, High Honor of the Sanctum, you are to be taken in alive. Come willingly L'Cie or else face the consequences."

'_Dysley…'_ Fang's jaw snapped closed, her pupils dilating slightly farther into the whites of her eyes. "I'll go to him on his orders when Hell freezes over!" she snarled. _'He's the one that tried to hurt Vanille three years ago. He's the one that forced me to become Ragnarok, and he's the one that made that serum they injected me with…' _The hatred running through her became more potent as her internal tirade began to grate on her already frayed nerves. The L'Cie looked at the men, a truly evil smirk gracing her lips. "If you want me, then you're going to have to kill me."

"We were ordered to bring you back alive. If you weren't to cooperate, then we are to also seize those with you. Another party has already been sent out to find the other group of fugitives."

"Your men won't come back alive, that is if they can find them, which I highly doubt," Fang answered. "And as for taking those with me, I won't let you," she said with narrowed eyes, as if daring them to try it.

The soldiers lifted up their guns and took aim, half of them at her and the other at the blonde nin. A warning shot was fired, the bullet becoming embedded in the sand that was to the side of them. "Last chance L'Cie, come willin-"

The man didn't have time to finish his warning when a branch of solid crystal shot up from the surface of the lake and wrapped around him like liquid diamond. His gun dropped to the ground as all the officers released a cry of shock, the surface of the solid lake beginning to twist around them in individual sheaths.

Naruto watched as the woman next to him moved her hands, swirls of energy pouring out of her as she manipulated the terrain around them. His eyes widened when the ends of the tendrils of crystal sharpened into points and dove into the men they held captive, cries of pain echoing loudly off of the walls. Blood poured down the gem streams, contrasting with the pure color of the element. The vines entwined in and out of the bodies, leaving the officers looking like grotesque pin cushions.

"Don't threaten my family," Fang growled at the barely conscious men that stared at her with partially glazed eyes. The L'Cie dropped to her knee and dug her fingers into the surface, she mumbled under her breath, coils of red and blue swirling around her form before they shot through the air and circled around her captives.

The colors twisted and turned faster, creating a barricade. The earth shook beneath them as a crystallized gate broke through the ground, the blue and red coils looping around the bars of the gateway. The stone glowed yellow, steadily changing until it burned dark red and the blue wisps turned to flames that rose up into the air and circled overhead. "See you in Hell," Fang said as the gate collapsed back into the lake's surface, taking the officers with them.

Naruto stood, mouth agape as his eyes skimmed the pristine surface. _'W-what was that?_' he thought as he turned his wide eyes to the lone woman. He watched as she stood and slowly turned back toward him, her head rising. The blonde only blinked when he saw the brunette's teeth begin to shrink to their normal size and the black marking begin to recede back under her clothing. Her eyes were still dark and hard as she walked back to where the sand bubble was.

"You will speak of that to no one," was all she said as she lied back down and almost instantaneously fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Naruto glanced up sleepily, checking once more on his best friend. He blinked, noticing the pristine surface of the sand sarcophagus. The sand slowly fell away, revealing a very pale and shaky Gaara. The blonde hopped up, running over to his friend. "Gaara!"<p>

The young Kazekage glanced over at him warily, his eyes flat and dull.

Naruto slowed, halting in front of the other nin. He smiled softly, "Good to have you back."

The red-head nodded slightly, his eyes turning downward. He blinked when he noticed a certain L'Cie was passed out on the ground.

Naruto noticed Gaara's attention being redirected and he glanced down at the brunette beside them. "She's been here the whole time," he said, "She even told that uptight pink-haired chick off for trying to attack you." _'And then some…'_

Gaara sighed, reforming his gourd. "We should get going soon."

Naruto nodded his head as his friend surrounded the teenaged girl in his sand, raising her off the ground as they started their journey to Konoha.

* * *

><p>Naruto repressed a groan as he unceremoniously flopped on the ground after two whole days of travelling. The blonde yawned widely and quickly prepared his bed, wanting nothing more than to get as much sleep as he could before they started off again. With one last yawn his bed was finished and he slid into it with a satisfied sigh, "Night, Gaara," he said as he quickly fell asleep, light snores coming from him.<p>

Gaara looked back at his companion, sighing internally at the almost child-like way he looked when he slept. "Night, Naruto." With that quiet statement he turned his attention back at the young woman that was still floating beside him. Slowly, he lowered her and the sand drew away from her body, revealing her tattered uniform that was ripped and stained with blood.

His eyes quickly assessed her face, noticing how pale it was compared to her normally tanned skin. He didn't miss the slightly darkened circles that were underneath her closed eyes, nor the slight thinning of her frame. All in all, she looked ill. Add into that the dried blood and it honestly looked like the brunette had been to Hell and back.

'_She has been,' _he reminded himself as he lightly stroked her face, running his thumb down her cheekbone. _'I'm going to help you through this, Fang. I'm not going to let you do this on your own. Not this time. Not while I'm here.' _


	12. Awakening of the Dusk

*Chapter Twelve. Awakening of the Dusk*

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"Of course, what kind of a question is that? This is Fang we're talking about. That girl wouldn't die even by Satan's hands." Sazh answered Hope's question with ease.

Snow sighed at the man's response and shook his head. "You are a man of wise words, Sazh, but I really don't think that this is the time to joke. I mean, she's been asleep for how long?"

"We all know that she sleeps a lot, Snow. You're all just over reacting."

"I hope you're right..." Vanille said quietly as Shikamaru placed his arm around her shoulder.

It had been nearly a week since they got Fang back from Cocoon, and she still hadn't shown any sign of waking. It was really starting to bother them, even Snow. Everyone was huddled away at Shikamaru's house, trying to talk about something other than what they had gone through in the past few weeks.

Honestly, Lightning was just annoyed with the lot of them and was half tempted to go wake her friend up herself.

* * *

><p>'<em>Where am I?' Fang thought as she looked around with caution. The only thing that she had been aware of had been the darkness that had kept her company since she had fallen asleep at Bresha. She couldn't feel anything or see anything, but a voice range in the stillness. <em>

'_Fang…' _

_The voice was soft and warming. She tried to turn toward the voice, trying to open her mouth and say something, anything. But, no matter how hard she tried, it was like she was drowning within her subconscious._

'_Fang…This is gonna hurt, but it will wake ya up…Vanille needs ya ta wake up, Fang. Ya promised me tha' ya would protect her.'_

'_Mom?'_

'_It's alrigh' Fang, ya did good. Things are gonna get hard, though. Ya need ta stay strong, Honey. I'm gonna wake ya up now, Fang.'_

'_Mom, no, wai-'_

'_I love ya, take care of your sister.'_

_Pain coursed through the brunette and her body was suddenly jerked forward into consciousness._

* * *

><p>Fang's eyes snapped open as she jolted upright, her breath coming out in shallow pants. It took a second for Fang to gather her bearings, recognizing the bed she was in as the one she had stayed in when she had visited Vanille. Slowly her body began relaxing, a dull, throbbing pain radiating in her head and chest. <em>'Mom…' <em>

Fang rested on her forearms as her head started to clear and the pain became more evident as it ran up and down the nerves in her body. The brunette bit back a groan of pain as she maneuvered out of the bed and stood on shaky legs. Looking down she could still see the PSICOM uniform clinging to her body and she glowered down at her attire. _'I'm not even going to think about what happened, I just want to take a shower, get out of this uniform, and go back to sleep,' _she thought tiredly to herself.

She glanced around the room, noticing it was one that luckily had a bathroom in it and she sighed in relief. _'At least I don't have to walk that far.' _She pressed her hand against the wall for extra support as she took the first step and her head swam, causing her to sway.

'_Get a hold of yourself, Fang! It's ten feet!' _she chastised herself as she maneuvered to the bathroom. Once she managed to get in, she quickly stripped off her clothes and turned the shower on as hot as it could go before she stumbled in. She hissed out in slight discomfort as the scalding water pelted her skin and then began to slowly relax, allowing the steam to wake her up and loosen her tightened muscles.

She leaned her forehead against the wall, taking deep breaths as she closed her eyes. She pushed every thought out of her head and just stood there until she grabbed the soap and shampoo, quickly washing herself and rinsed off just before the water turned cold.

Fang stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying herself off in a rush. She pulled open one of the cupboards and sighed in relief when she saw that an extra pair of clothes she stashed was still there. She swiftly pulled on the jeans and tank when she deemed herself dry enough. She was just about ready to throw on her hoodie when the mirror caught her eye.

Fang swallowed and turned to face her reflection, her breath catching in throat as her eyes scanned over her skin. Her skin had paled from the lack of sunlight while she was held captive. The paleness only seemed to enhance the sight of the new scars that marred her skin. The scar over her chest stuck out more than the others as the memories slowly beginning to bleed into her mind. Her eyes moved down and she noticed an odd protrusion beneath the skin covering her ribs, she pushed up her shirt and winced at the dark bruises covering her stomach. "Great," she muttered, carefully pulling it back down.

As she arm moved a dark blur caught her eye with the movement and she stilled, her eyes cautious. She turned her right shoulder in and looked into the mirror, her hands dropping the hoodie as her eyes trained on the marking. The burnt mark was still there, but inside of it a new, active one was beginning to take life. Her eyes blinked at it for a few minutes as the sound of her increased breathing was the only thing that disrupted the silence.

Time stopped as reality came crashing in on her. "No, no, no, no, no…" she muttered, throwing the sweater over herself quickly as her thoughts began whirling and jumbling together.

'_I need air.'_

The adrenaline that flowed through her helped her move faster than she would've been able to under her impairing circumstances. It only took her a few minutes before she had flung her bedroom window open and had jumped down, continuing on her way quickly before anyone could've realized she was up. She kept to the trees, avoiding all human contact as she started to sort her racing thoughts, forcing herself to calm down and think rationally.

The sun was started to set as she finally stopped walking hurriedly, now surrounded by grass and absolutely no sign of anyone. If she didn't know any better, she would've sworn she was out of the village, but she knew that she was still within the border of Konoha. She had managed to calm down to a point where she could properly think things thru without the fear of completely losing it. All the stress from the month radiated off of her as she forced herself to relax.

A twinge stabbed through her arm and she cringed, grimacing at the discomfort. Fang glared down at the mark as she knelt down on the ground, the spring wind blowing through her hair as the smell of leaves and rain surrounded her. Even in her slight state of panic, she couldn't help but feel relaxed. She hadn't seen the outside world in what seemed like a lifetime, but even the serenity couldn't keep her worries at bay.

'_I'm sixteen, Ragnarok is going to start getting stronger…' _she thought as she ran a hand through her hair. Suddenly the memory of her final fight played before her eyes, knocking the breath out of her. She leaned forward, her hands finding purchase of the ground and kept her from falling over. As quickly as it came, it was gone, leaving a haunting feeling in its wake. The brunette forced deep breathes to keep from hyperventilating, her body shaking from the memory and from a new wave of heat and pain that flared in her blood.

'_It's going to be a long night…' _

* * *

><p>"What do you mean she's not there?" Snow asked incredulously.<p>

"It means what it sounds like. Fang's not there." Hope explained.

The blonde fisted his hand in his hair. "Fuck, Light is going to kill me for losing her on my watch!"

"You did what?" a cold voice hissed from behind him and he jumped around in shock.

A sheepish smile tugged on his lips. "Hey Light, lovely night isn't it?"

The pink-haired L'Cie glared over at him. "What do you mean that she's not-"

"Fang! You're finally up, I thought-Why were you outside?" Vanille's voice carried from the lower floor.

Her words took a second to sink into the three before they were running down the stairs. Snow stopped when he spotted the brunette standing at the open door, a small smile on her face. "I needed to get away from the four walls, outside was just too inviting."

Lightning listened to her friend talk, her eyebrows furrowing softly as she examined Fang. _'Something feels off…' _She shrugged it off and walked past Snow, placing a well-aimed hit to his shoulder. "It's good to see you conscious, Fang."

Snow cringed and rubbed his abused arm. "What is with you girls and hitting?"

The brunette smiled slightly as Hope and Vanille wrapped their arms around her before it quickly turned to a grimace as they pressed against her injured rib. She unintentionally cringed and they released her, both of them looking at her thoracic cavity. "Lift your shirt up," Vanille ordered, placing her hands on her hips.

Fang attempted to stare her down, but eventually gave up and lifted her hoodie up enough to expose the bruise. Their eyes zoomed in on it and the two exchanged looks, Vanille lightly prodded over the protrusion and Fang held back a hiss of pain as it throbbed. Hope sighed and shook his head. "I thought it was broken when we at Bresha, but she ran away before I could tell."

Vanille shook her head at her sister's antics. "It's healed, but it's set wrong. We need to re-break it and then fix it."

Fang scowled and crossed her arms. "It's not going to kill me, you know."

"Fang," Light said, rolling her eyes, "just do it and get it over with or else they're just going to bother you about it for weeks."

The brunette set her jaw and turned her head, showing her defiance. "It's fin-"

"Fang," a new voice interrupted, causing the teen to turn her head toward it, her stubbornness wavering slightly when she recognized who it was.

Gaara limped down the stairs silently, his eyes trained on hers as he approached her. "The best thing for you right now is to get completely healed," he said as he walked over to her.

Fang's eyes looked at his leg, noticing the bandage that was wrapped around his injured leg and she answered with the first thing that passed through her mind. "And the best thing for you is to get a cane to help you support your weight, gimp" The red-head stopped in front of her and tilted his head as she smiled slightly.

"My leg isn't going to kill me, your rib could. If you end up moving wrong, you could puncture your lung," Gaara said as the sulky expression returned to the brunette.

The brunette fished for an argument, but with a sigh Fang gingerly maneuvered down to the floor and lied down. "Let's get this over with."

"Naruto, go get Sakura," Gaara ordered and the blonde disappeared, returning quickly with his comrade in tow.

Vanille and Hope left, returning with bandages and other supplies as Lightning knelt down beside her friends head, shooting a glare over at the sand nin before she returned her attention to the brunette. "Want something to bite on?" The teen thought for a moment and nodded. Light pulled a strap of leather off her arm and placed it in the younger's mouth. Snow and Serah also knelt down as Sakura took her place over Fang. Vanilla and Hope walked back in, carrying the utensils needed as they got on the ground. "Hold down her other shoulder, Snow," Light ordered as she placed her hand over one of them. He nodded and did so, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Sakura's hand glowed with green chakra as she examined the rib before she placed a precise hit to it. A loud crack made everyone wince as Fang's jaw clenched around the leather, no sound of pain escaping her mouth even though it wanted to rip out of her throat. The med nin quickly re-set it, the bruise worsening with every passing minute as Fang started to slacken her jaw.

"I need her sitting up to wrap it," Sakura said as Lightning nodded, both her and Snow elevating her upper body. The movement caused Fang's hands to fist up tightly and to take a controlled breath. The nin quickly wrapped the injury securely, sighing once she was finished. "Okay, she's good. She'll have to be re-bandaged when it get loose, though."

Fang nodded and spat the leather out, bracing her hands on the ground and lifting herself up. Sakura quickly grabbed her arm, outrage apparent on her face. "What are you doing?"

The brunette blinked, keeping another wince hidden. "Standing up…?"

The leaf nin shook her head. "Oh no, you can't walk or else you might jostle the bone. Someone's going to have to carry you."

Snow smiled and opened his arms wide. "Your chariot awaits!"

Fang glared at Snow and tried to scoot away. "No."

Before she could do much of anything else, sand wrapped around her and lifted her up. "I can carry her," Gaara said as his girlfriend's glare dropped. Lightning glared at the red-head, holding back a snide comment when Fang shot her a look that would silence even Snow. The sand congregated into makeshift stretcher as it began to move toward the steps and the brunette crossed her arms in slight indignation. "I could still walk," she mumbled under her breath as she was escorted to her room by Gaara who walked behind her. She tilted her head back and narrowed her eyes at him. "You should get your leg checked out and healed."

"If I have to get mine healed, then so do you," he answered.

The brunette's eyes narrowed at his proposition as the sand settled her down on her bed before it dispersed. She opened her mouth to retort when Gaara raised his hand.

"We can discuss this some other time. You need to rest," he said, lowering his hand.

Fang only shook her head. "I've slept more than enough. I need to walk around and-"

His hand came down and lightly pressed against her lips, silencing her. "Rest, when you wake up we will talk about walking and other things. Then, we will get you some food."

Fang's eyes darkened when he mentioned, "things," knowing exactly what he wanted to talk about Cocoon. She almost grimaced when he mentioned food and her mind flickered back to her self-examination in the bathroom. "Fine," she answered begrudgingly once his hand was removed. Her thoughts drifting back to what she discovered in the bathroom.

'_I have to find out how to deal with Ragnarok,' _she thought, another stab of pain radiated down her arm, _'I need to figure out a way to control it.'_

Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly at the slightly distracted look that flickered across his girlfriend's face. "Fang?" he questioned, pulling her out of her revive. He studied her face as a small smile spread across her lips when she looked up at him. That smile unnerved him, he didn't know why but it seemed wrong.

"Don't worry, I'll sleep," she reassured him as she closed her eyes.

The sand shinobi watched over her for a few moments before he sighed inaudibly, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer even if he asked.

'_What's going on inside your head?' _he thought as he turned away and left the brunette to rest.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Pain. <strong>_

_**That was the only thing that accompanied the darkness that surrounded her. It crawled through her veins and set her blood ablaze. To her, it felt like everything, her body, her soul, her entire being, was on fire. She had been through torture before, but this…**_

_**This was Hell.**_

_**Slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness, a dim red glow seeming to surround her. As it slowly got brighter, the images got sharper and the pain increased. The pounding of her blood fueled the pressure in her head, making her writhe in agony. Her eyes opened wide, seeing the dark walls that gradually turned to crystal, black crystal that started to bleed red.**_

_**Blood.**_

_**Her body was trembling as wave upon wave flooded her. **_

"_**What's going on? Where am I"**_

_**A dark laugh resounded around her. "You couldn't tell, Oerba Yun Fang?" the voice asked, its tone malicious and deadly. "We're inside your mind. I thought even you would be able to recognize it by now."**_

_**The brunette stilled and forced herself to repress a groan of pain. Her eyes closed and reopened, focusing in on an image materializing before her eyes. "What's going on?"**_

_**Glowing eyes stared back at her, the blood flowing down the crystal transforming into slim, flickering threads of flames. "The mark has been repaired and I'm no longer sealed away and repressed. Your sixteenth birthday has passed a month ago and seeing that you've finally decided to be conscious I'm taking this time to grow. We both need to be aware for the process to begin," the demon stated, pain of its own coursing through it as the markings on its body turned from black to red as its skin got darker. "It's been a while."**_

_**Fang forced herself not to glare at her portion of Ragnarok and suppressed the anger and vengeance that wanted to free itself. "I can't say it's a pleasure," she bit out. **_

_**The demon chuckled. "You never change, but that's beside the point. You need to listen to what I tell you or else you'll face even more pain than you're in now."**_

"_**Oh, it's nice to know that you care so much. What do I have to do for such a luxury, sell my soul?" she snapped back. Honestly, what do you expect after not having to so much as think about the demon for three years and then suddenly it's interrupting your sleep?**_

"_**Technically you already have, be it willingly or not," Ragnarok retorted, an evil smile revealing sharp fangs. "No, you have to get stronger or else the pain will destroy your body, which if that happens I'll never be able to fulfill my purpose. That and don't you want to be strong enough so that I don't break free like I almost did at Lake Bresha? And you call me a demon," it commented.**_

"_**You are," she snapped back. "Because of you my-"**_

"_**Village was destroyed, life was ruined, sister was almost killed in front of my eyes, you've thought about that stuff so much that I have it memorized. At least now I can communicate with you and you can't ignore me, at least not when you're sleeping."**_

_**Fang grimaced and flinched in discomfort. "I liked it a lot more when I didn't have to listen to you."**_

_**The demon growled. "Look, I don't like the fact that I have to leech off another to survive, so the least you can do is keep us both alive by actually trying to use the abilities you have. It's dangerous to me that you keep that bottled up and it interferes with my powers," Ragnarok snarled. The creature was silent and the red glow began to dim. "Our sisters are coming. I'll the pain at bay until you're alone again," it said quietly as the black began to fade in. **_

"_**Remember what I said…"**_

* * *

><p>Fang's eyes opened, her chest heaving as if she had run miles. She blinked a few times before her eyes adjusted to the darkness and then the artificial light as it was turned on.<p>

"Oh, you're actually up! That's good, now I don't have to worry about facing your fury at being woken," Vanille said as she walked in with a tray laden with food.

Fang forced a smile and sat up. "Have I been asleep for long?" she asked, feigning curiosity.

The older nodded her head, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Nearly all day, that and you'd been unconscious for nearly two weeks before today."

The brunette was silent for a moment as she processed Vanille's words. "…How long was I in Cocoon?"

The air was still and silent as the atmosphere seemed to thicken before Vanille finally answered, "…For three weeks."

A deep sigh left Fang as she grabbed her sister's hand as they lapsed into silence. Out of the two sisters one of them wanted to talk about it, but was reluctant to ask, while the other just didn't want to talk. Finally the silence was broken as Fang looked over at Vanille and asked softly, "Do you have any rubber bands?"

The older, shocked, nodded her head. "Yes. Do you want some?"

The brunette smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she said. Vanille tilted her head but stood none the less and walked out, returning a couple minutes later with the hair ties. Silently, she handed them over to Fang who took them with equal muteness.

Without exchanging any sort of word or look, the younger L'Cie tilted her head to the left and flipped the hair on the right of her neck over so that it cascaded down with the rest. Deftly, she separated a lock just above her ear and divided it into three parts, braiding the strands together all the way to the end.

Vanilla watching her sister with curiosity and confusion as she continued the braid not once or twice, but three times until she had three of them adorning her waves. Once she was finished she righted her head and her hair fell back into place, the new braids traveling behind her ear and down to her shoulder. The sight left Vanille with a sense of déjà vu, her eyes training on the adornments until she finally recalled a memory, her eyes widening with recognition.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Mamma?" Fang asked, her eyes locking on another woman from the village.<strong>_

"_**Yea' Fang?" her mother asked back, looking at her daughter curiously.**_

_**Vanilla paused in her flower gathering to look at her sister and mom with curiosity. "Whatcha lookin at, Fang?"**_

_**The tiny brunette raised her hand and pointed to the dark haired woman and her friend that accompanied her. "Why do they have braids in their hair?"**_

_**Their mother smiled and lightly grabbed her youngest daughter's hand, cradling it gently. "They have 'em cuz their warriors tha've been captured by enemy villages and successfully got away." **_

_**Vanilla tilted her head and walked over to her mother, sitting down next to her. "So they 'er hostages, mamma?"**_

_**The older brunette nodded. "It's a mark o' the warrior code. Differn thangs stand for wha' they've been through an their rankin's. Those braids are a mark of loyalty."**_

* * *

><p>'<em>One for each week' <em>the older thought as she looked over at Fang, torn as she attempted to ask her something, anything about the capture, but in the end she couldn't even do that. "Eat. You need the nutrition to help you heal," she said, glad when the younger nodded. "And if you don't," she said warningly, "I will send up Lightning. I'm sure she'll have no problems force-feeding you."

A slight smile escaped the brunette as she imagined the infuriated pinky trying to stuff an apple down her throat. "I'll eat, but only if you go get some sleep, it's late."

Vanilla smiled and nodded. "Deal," she said as she squeezed her sister's hand. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she let go, sending one last smile as she exited the room.

As promised, Fang started eating, becoming ravenous once she actually tasted the food and realized how hungry she really was. Before long all the food was gone off the tray and a very full L'Cie was looking around the room, pondering what she should do.

'_You have to get stronger or else the pain will destroy your body…'_

Fang sat up straighter, determination written on her face as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Her knees buckled, but held her up as she quickly regained her equilibrium. She cautiously lifted the hoodie and inspected her wrapped thoracic cavity, her fingers gently prodded around the broken rib and she contained a delighted smile when no pain was produced.

'_I guess that demon is good for one thing at least,' _she thought as she unwrapped her now healed wound. Instead, she pushed up the sleeves of the sweater and wrapped the bandages around her arms and hands for support. She glanced around the room as she opened the window and slipped out of the second floor, landing carefully on the ground below. With a quick look around she deemed that no one was around and started off towards the training grounds.

It only took her a few minutes to maneuver through the woods as to find an isolated place and was soon stretching carefully, keeping in mind the muscles that were still sore from her escapade. She moved her arms above her head and stretched them, feeling her joints pop at the feeling before she began stretching her legs. Once she was done she rolled her shoulders, her body looser than it had been in weeks and the soreness somewhat sated.

Fang took a deep breath and closed her eyes, sliding her leg back while she raised her arms into a fighting position. Concentration poured out of her as she slowly opened her eyes, her fist striking out in front of her, stopping suddenly as she supported her weight on her right foot and spun with the hit. Her left arm came back and locked at her hip as she jumped up and kicked her leg out, landing and then dropping down into a swift spin kick.

Her movements were precise and controlled as she imagined enemies surrounding her, the visual all too easy to picture in her mind. After the first few moves she started drifting into her mind, letting her instinct take over as she began to wonder. It took the sounds of someone approaching to bring her attention back and she quickly sat on the ground, looking up at the night sky as they got closer, trying to appear as calm and content as she could.

She only had to wait a few minutes before another sat down beside her silently, red hair catching the corner of her eye. Silence stretched between them as they continued to observe the dark sky until Fang sighed. She turned her head toward him and for the first time in two months, got a good look at her boyfriend. "…You look like hell."

Indeed he did. His skin looked even paler than normal and his eyes were weary while his body was tense. It took her a second to figure out that wasn't the smartest thing to say. Thank kami that Gaara already knew that the filter between her brain and her mouth tended to be faulty. "You okay?"

Gaara blinked at Fang's blunt comment and turned his face toward her, seeing concerned eyes examining his face. "Do I look okay?"

"No, but at least you don't look as bad as I do," she muttered, a sigh escaping her as Gaara took his turn to look her over. The cuts and bruises seemed to have healed since her first saw her, except the ones that were around her wrists that he saw earlier that day, indicating that shackled were used to keep her bound. She too looked weary, dark circles around her own eyes had appeared, but the paleness was starting to recede and color was seemingly starting to return to her slowly. Despite all of that though, she still looked considerably weaker than what she usually seemed.

Silence once again overtook them, a slight spark of tension that now radiated through both of them.

Fang pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring out into nothing before she took a deep breath. "...I don't know what you expect me to say, Gaara. I don't know if you want an apology or an explanation..." she said, shaking her head. "I honestly can't apologize to you. I have no qualms about what I did, just on how it affected people. I know I've caused pain, but it was the only thing I could do..." she paused for a second and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to promise you that it's not going to happen again. I don't know if I'll ever be put into a situation like that. If I am, I'm not going to just stand back and let them take my family...I refuse to promise you something and then go against it."

Gaara shook his head. "I wasn't expecting you to apologize or explain. I probably would have done the same thing. It still hurt, yes, but it wasn't your fault."

The brunette blinked, not looking at him as her mind reeled. _'Wasn't my fault? How could it NOT be my fault?'_

"But, I do want to know what happened," he said softly.

His words made the former captive shake her head as she shivered internally. "I won't tell you that. There's no need to dwell on something that's already done and over with," she said. _'No need for you to dwell on.' _

"Fang, that man that was supervising you was-"

"Your dad, I know," she interrupted, noticing his slightly bemused expression, "Him and Kankuro look a lot alike. That, and his temper is like Temari's even though he tried to hide it."

"That's how you figured it out? His temper and how he looked?"

"You do know how good I am at getting under people's skins, right? Once I placed why he looked familiar I was able to deduct his reactions, even though he was hiding them until I wasn't in sight."

Gaara sighed. "So you won't explain what happened in your interrogations?"

Fang looked over at him. "What is there to tell? They'd try to break me and I wouldn't let them. They'd get pissed and take it a step further while I messed with their minds and insulted their intelligence. Out of all of us I'd say they fared worse than I did." Fang paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "I don't like it when people try to assert authority over me to get me to bend to their whim," she ground out.

The shinobi couldn't help but to smile slightly at how stubborn the brunette was, glad that it came in handy this time. His eyes looked into hers as another question passed his lips. "Why were you taken, Fang?"

The teen was silent before she sighed. "They tried to use me to get to the others. There were rumors going around that there was more than just Snow, Hope, Vanille, and myself in the L'Cie rankings. It was also being spread around that it was possibly an officer of Cocoon was a turncoat L'Cie, which in all actuality is Lightning."

Gaara raised his eyebrow. "That's it?" The brunette nodded her head, the braids catching the red-head's attention. He tilted his head, _'Those weren't there earlier…' _"Fang?"

"Hm?" she asked, resting her head on her knees.

"What are those?" he asked, gesturing to her new hair adornments.

Despite her worries about Ragnarok and the undoubted trouble that was in the future her lips pulled up into the first genuine smile she had since she had awoken. "A mark of my loyalty."

* * *

><p>The next morning Fang barely said good morning before she left the house, not returning until late at night. Every day that went on until one L'Cie noticed something that all the others missed.<p>

Not once since the brunette had woken had she listened to music.


	13. The Brink of Insanity

*Chapter Thirteen. The Brink of Insanity*

It had been two weeks since Fang had come out of her comatose state. Two weeks and the brunette had barely spoken a word to anyone or done much of anything aside from train and lie in the grass for hours on end. Then whenever she was restricted to the indoors all she would do was coop herself up in her room.

All of that would be normal, if it weren't for the fact that the L'Cie hadn't listened to her music once since she had been awoken.

All of that was the cause of the light blue eyes that narrowed as Lightning walked into the Kazekage's room without knocking. The pinkette folded her arms over her chest as she glared at him evenly, as if she was trying to convey what she was thinking without actually having to say it.

Gaara gazed back at her coolly, standing up from his perch by the window. "Yes?"

"What did you do?"

"Do?" The Kazekage asked, his eyebrow rising with the question.

"To Fang." She clarified.

"I don't understand."

The woman's arms uncrossed and she walked up to him swiftly, her eyes narrowing into slits. "She hasn't been acting like herself for weeks."

"And you think I did something," he stated, his face quickly becoming emotionless.

He watched as the other bristled and her hands tightened into fists. "The only time Fang hasn't listened to music was when things with her and Cid," she spat the name, "began to fall apart."

The red-head remained silent, biting his tongue at the obvious implication. He glared down at the L'Cie, taking a step closer to her. "I would never dream of hurting her," he said darkly in a carefully controlled voice. "Now, it you'll excuse me," he said, brushing past her.

Light's eyes narrowed slightly in thought as she looked at the nin calculatingly. "What's the date?"

Gaara paused for a moment and glanced back at her, "It's the sixth of April," he answered. Curiosity caught up to him as the stoic woman stormed out of his room and headed down the hall. He heard a door slam open and then silence.

"WHAT?"

Gaara blinked, confused and shocked when Fang's voice roared in the air. He walked out of his room, heading to his girlfriend's all while grimacing. _'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' _he thought as he stopped just inside of Fang's room.

"Take it off," Light ordered the brunette while the others in the house began to join the three in the room to investigate what had made their comrade shout.

Fang just looked at her best friend as if she'd grown another head. "I'm not taking it off."

"Why, because he really is beating you?"

The taller of the two spluttered her mouth agape in shock which quickly turned to annoyance. "You think- You idiot!" She shouted as she stood up from her bed, her hands clenched. "Gaara would nev-"

"Then why won't you take off your hoodie? I know you're wearing a shirt underneath, I can see it."

"Well pardon me if I don't feel like stripping in front of you. If you want a show, than you're going to have to pay me," Fang retorted with a smirk.

Lightning rolled her eyes. "You are insufferable. Now take it off," she ordered.

The brunette just stood with her arms crossed and an impassive face that rivaled her boyfriend's. A few tense seconds ticked by as the onlookers watched with curiosity and apprehension at the scene before them. Sooner or later one of them was going to make a move.

Lightning reached over and grabbed her friend's sweater and tugged, causing Fang to grab ahold of her hand and twist it in retaliation. The pink-haired woman turned with her hand and released the fabric, returning her grasp to the bottom and pulled it up over the brunette's head. Fang gripped the sweater and locked it over her shoulders, glaring at her comrade as she pulled it back.

"Stop it you two!" Vanille yelled as Snow wrapped his arms around Lightning's waist and pulled her away from Fang. The hoodie protested with the movement, the seams ripping slightly as the two refused to give an inch of the article to the other.

Snow rolled his eyes at the two of them and grabbed Light's hand, trying to jerk it off the shirt. "Come on, Light. She doesn't go around trying to take your clothes off, give her the same privilege."

The older L'Cie glared at Snow and threw her elbow back into his nose, causing him to curse and release her. Once she was free, she brought her other hand up and grabbed the hoodie and gave it a pull at the same time Snow grabbed her and tried to jerk her away. As a result the hoodie was pulled off the brunette, and Lightning's eyes flickered to her arm, her pale irises darkening. "I guess I was right…"

Fang quickly latched her hand on her right arm, but not before everyone got a chance to see the iridescent scar surrounding the outline of an active, black mark. Her body stiffened, her shoulders tensed as if ready for an attack. Those bright eyes showed no emotion as she stared Lightning down.

"Fang…" Vanille said quietly, her eyes wide with fear.

"It's fine, nothing I haven't dealt with before," the brunette cut across her sister. Another stab of pain flared through her body and she repressed the wince just barely.

"Dealing with it?" Light asked in a disbelieving tone.

"It's none of your business, Claire," Fang snapped, her eyes flashing.

The pink-haired woman tensed at her real name, knowing that she was beginning to tread dangerous water. "Do you know what this means?" she asked, "Do you know what migh-"

"Of course I know! I'm the one going through with it every day! I've been living with it for years!" Fang yelled back.

Vanilla stepped up, holding her hands up slightly, "Fang, you haven't had to deal with your part of Ragnarok for three years," she reminded her. "You just turned sixteen, that's the highest development time of the demon because you've officially reached adulthood. That's why you've been training nonstop, isn't it. You're compensating for the toll it's taking on your body, and you're distracting yourself from the pain it's causing."

The brunette glared over at her sister and snarled. "Leave me alone," was all she said as she stormed out of the room. From downstairs the sound of a door slamming shut reached their ears before complete silence took them over.

Vanilla bit her lip and looked out the window, her eyes watering as tears started to coat them. _'Fang…Don't push us away,' _she thought._ 'We just want to help.' _

Gaara glanced around at the L'Cie, shaking his head slightly. He quickly turned on his heal and walked down the stairs, after his girlfriend. Once he got outside he barely caught a glance of her back as she disappeared through the woods. He followed after her, making sure to stay hidden and out of sight.

* * *

><p>Fang didn't know how long she had been running for; all she knew was that she couldn't stop. The strain of her muscles and the forced breathes that made her lungs burn kept her going, the pain allowing her to feel alive. She knew she was allowing her L'Cie blood to take over, her increase of speed and stamina only proved it, but there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it. Not that she wanted too.<p>

Day turned into night as the terrain changed from forest to meadows. It only took her one last hour until she began to slow, her thoughts finally catching up to what she was seeing. A dilapidated village lied in ruins before her, causing her to slow to a stop. Her breath came out in puffs as her eyes quickly examined the village before her.

The buildings were run down, almost none of them seeming to be able to inhabit any sort of life. In fact, as she looked around, she didn't notice anyone even in the village. Fang took a few cautious steps, each stride kicking up dust. She looked down as her head spun, an eerie feeling settling in her chest as she stumbled, catching herself on a railing.

She clung to the metal as she took a few deep breathes until the dizziness had passed. Once it had passed she lifted her head and blinked her eyes open, her vision swam before it cleared and her eyes widened slightly as she looked out over an ocean. The brunette's breath caught in her throat as her back stiffened and she straightened up. She quickly retracted her hands as if they were burned and she shook her head. _'No, it's not possible. Oerba was…it was…' _

Fang looked around slowly, _'What happened…Is this what I did…?' _she thought sadly. Everything was covered in dust that clung to her clothes, upon further examination she saw that the dust was really eroded crystal, which only proved the fact even more. She was in Oerba.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>So this is how ya do it, Momma?" Fang asked as she held up a small bracelet. <strong>_

_**The older woman smiled encouragingly as she nodded, "Yea, Fang, ya did it righ'," she said. "Can I see it?"**_

_**The tiny girl nodded her head enthusiastically and handed the blue and purple piece of jewelry to her mother with a toothy smile. **_

_**Her mother smiled down at her and looked at the circle of beads. Her fingers lightly traced over it, "It's very pretty, Fang."**_

"_**Really?"**_

_**The mother nodded and small hands clasped over her own, closing them over Fang's first bracelet. "I wan' ya ta keep it," she said with a small smile. **_

_**Her mother smiled and nodded, "I'd love ta have it. Thank ya, Fang." **_

* * *

><p>Fang looked up as her memory faded away, finding that she had wandered while in her trance. Her feet stopped upon her realization when she saw an abandoned house a few yards away and a gravestone not a foot from her feet. Ice cold spread through her body as she knelt down, her body going numb. "…Hi, Mom… Long time no see…"<p>

As expected nothing answered her back as she slid onto both of her knees, the crystal dust coating her jeans. The young woman took a deep breath and sighed, "I have a few problems," she admitted softly, "and I have no idea what I should do." The brunette bowed her head slightly and twisted her fingers together as she bit her lip. "I really messed up…"

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I swear I didn' mean ta do it! I jus' sorta stumbled an it…"<strong>_

_**The older L'Cie shushed her daughter, smiling softly at her innocent face and eyes that had tears threatening to come out. "It's alrigh," she said, "the firs' thang ta any problem is admitting tha' ya have one…"**_

* * *

><p>Words flew out of Fang's mouth before she had a chance to think about what she was saying, her sentences blurred together as she ranted off all of what had went on for the past three years, starting with what had started it all.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cold laughter rang throughout the chamber, sending chills down the thirteen year-old brunette's spine. Along with the laughter came another shriek of pain that stabbed the girl in the heart. "Leave her alone!" Fang yelled, "Leave her alone, I'll give ya what ya want!"<strong>_

"_**Then embrace your destiny, child! Give in to your hate!" Galeneth Dysely commanded her as her sister fell to the ground, the restraints removed from her body. **_

"_**Fang…Don't, I-I'm fine-"**_

_**The brunette only clamped her hand over the wound on her side and stood up, "I'll do it."**_

"_**N-no, Fang ya can't! Ya promise-"**_

"_**I also made a promise ta protect my family, 'Nille. Some are more importan' than others," the L'Cie said solemnly as she took her place in front of her sister. Her eyes met malicious blue ones and a stab of pain went through her arm, causing her to clutch it as she fell to her knees.**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Who are you?" The pink-haired Calvary officer questioned the brunette next to her.<strong>_

_**Fang only smirked and shrugged, hiding the pain the question brought to her, "I'm a L'Cie, same as ya," she answered. "Sure, I gotta few screws loose, but tha' doesn't change the fact tha's wha' I am or wha' I've done."**_

_**The only response she got for that one was the back hand of the shorter, older girl. The brunette smiled after the blow was placed and she turned back to the other, "Ya feel better now?" **_

"_**Hn," was the only answer she got from the other and she couldn't help but smile ever so slightly. This one was fun to mess around with.**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>So you're leaving?" the tall teen asked his girlfriend of nearly a year, a small frown on his lips. "How are we going to stay together?"<strong>_

"_**We're not," the fourteen-year-old replied. "Things haven't been working out for a while, Cid. This can't keep going on, I think Light is starting to-"**_

"_**What do you mean that weren't not going to stay together? You're my girlfriend!"**_

_**The brunette repressed a flinch as her now ex-boyfriend stepped closer, a shadow of the bruise he gave her the night before still stung upon her skin. "It means what it says. We're breaking up."**_

_**Before she could realize what was happening his fist was driven into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her as his other hand gripped her hair and pulled her head back so that he could look her in the eyes. "You. Are. Mine." He snapped, his other hand pulling out a knife he always kept on him as he flipped the blade out. "If you won't be mine, then I'll make it so that you'll never be someone else's. By the time I'm through with you, no one will want you," he said dangerously as he drove the knife all the way to the hilt into her stomach. **_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I should've known," Vanille said quietly as tears fell from her eyes, "I should've known this was going on. I'm her sister."<strong>_

"_**Calm down, Vanille. She's going to be okay," Snow comforted the other, both of them unaware of the now conscious L'Cie whom they were talking about.**_

"_**There, there was s-so much b-blood," she whispered, her hands shaking as she recalled walking to her sister's room to find her mutilated body.**_

"_**Fang's a hard one to kill, it'll take more than a few stab wound to off her," Sazh said as he pulled the smallest girl into a hug. **_

_**Fang just closed her eyes and tried to block out their voices, 'Even when I don't try to I cause so much pain and sorrow…' **_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Come on Fang! It'll be a lot of fun!" her sister cowed, her arms waving around to express her point.<strong>_

"_**We need to keep on the move, Vanille. What if-"**_

"_**Fang, spending a few months in one place isn't going to kill us. Plus, this would be so much fun! We've always wanted to be in The Phantom of the Opera!"**_

_**The brunette sighed and smiled slightly, "Fine. But as soon as it's done, we're out of here. Deal?"**_

"_**Deal."**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Hey Fang, what are you looking at?"<strong>_

"_**Huh?"**_

"_**You heard me," her sister said with a smile, "I saw you looking at that red-head."**_

_**Fang quickly shook her head, "It's not like that, I was just staring off into space."**_

"_**Uh-huh, sure."**_

_**The younger sighed and flickered her eyes over to the red-headed boy she was looking at earlier with curiosity. He seemed to notice her stare and he looked over at her, both of them looking into each other's eyes for a second before passing their glances to other people. **_

'_**He has lonely eyes,' Fang thought to herself as she remembered the same look in her own. She blinked and looked over to her sister, only to see that she had disappeared.**_

…_**Again.**_

_**She swore softly and quickly looked through the crowd of people, "Vanille!" she yelled as she spotted her sister. **_

"_**Oh, hi Fang! I want you to meet…What's your name?"**_

_**The red-head beside her sister ran his hand through his bangs, his eyes slightly downcast before he looked over to Vanille. He blinked and turned his gaze to the brunette, his soft green eyes meeting her bright aquamarine ones. "Gaara."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The night breeze caressed her near naked torso as the red-head stared at her with solemn eyes. Fang watched as his gaze traveled down her stomach, she could almost see him mentally counting the scars she had received, "Now do you understand?" she asked in a nearly dead voice. <strong>_

"_**Who?"**_

_**"My ex." Fang answers quietly. **_

_**He blinked and then nodded slightly, looking away. The brunette turned her back to him, but felt his eyes when he undoubtedly saw the scars from the stab wounds that marred her back. Fang slid her shirts back on, "Now we both know stuff that no one else knows about."**_

_**The red head nodded, standing up. "…When did he do that…?"**_

"_**When I told him that I was moving, he asked me where and I said it didn't matter. He asked how we were going to stay together. I told him that we weren't. He pulled a knife out on me, and I took it."**_

"_**It was a one-time deal?" he asked as he motioned to her arms unbelievingly. **_

_**Fang paused, "The knife was, the beatings weren't."**_

_**They stood in silence before Gaara walked over to her and carefully wrapped his arms around her.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang looked out into the color changing sky, lightly swaying back and forth on the swing, "Gaara?"<strong>_

"_**Hm?" he asked as looked over at her.**_

"_**Are we friends?"**_

_**Gaara's eyes glazed over with thought before he nodded his head, "Yeah…We're friends."**_

_**Fang couldn't help the small smile that pulled at her lips as she turned away and went back to looking at the sky, "Yeah, I thought so, too."**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The brunette reached up and lightly placing a hand to Gaara's cheek. She gently turned his face toward her, "Open your eyes."<strong>_

_**The red-head shook his head and turned away again, "No…"**_

"_**Please, Gaara," Fang asked without even thinking. It was the first time she used that word in years. **_

_**Gaara stood with his face turned away from her for a while before he sighed, turning to face her with his eyes open. Fang looked into his normal aqua foam green eyes, but black diamonds and circles now accompanied them. "I'm a monster Fang…" was all he said, his voice dead and void of any emotion.**_

_**Pain flared through Fang as she looked into his eyes, taking in the odd appearance of her friend's pupils. She shook her head, lightly trailing her thumb under his eye, "I've seen monsters, Gaar., I've fought against them. You're not a monster, misunderstood maybe, but definitely not a monster." She said, her fingers softly outlining the black rings around his eye. "…I don't want to ever hear you calling yourself that..." 'Because out of the two of us, the real monster is me.' she thought softly. **_

_**Gaara blinked down at her before he reached down and hugged her, pressing her body close to his. Unthinkingly, Fang wrapped her arms around his neck, warmth spreading through her body as she felt him tighten his hold. It felt so right. Safe. **_

'_**I don't want to let go…'**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang pulled away from the shocked teen, her lips still tingling, "Thank you, for everything," she said as she turned away. A light blush spread through her cheek as she walked to the door. 'I can't believe I just did that.'<strong>_

_**A hand grabbed her wrist and turned her around as softly lips descended on her own. Fang froze for a moment before she relaxed, her lips pressing back against his as another wave of warmth seeped through her body. **_

'_**I like the way you make me feel…'**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang smiled down at the roses, a faraway look in her eyes, "He called me beautiful."<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sadness pulled at her chest as she looked over the ruins of the theater, her eyes looking at all the rubble that littered the ground. Her arm still tingled from the after effects of the magic she used and she was glad that there was work to be done, thankful for the distraction. <strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang grasped onto her boyfriend's hand as she stepped back against the ledge of the cliff, "Trust me," she whispered. Her hand clenched the knife in her other hand as she took one last step back and fell into the air. <strong>_

* * *

><p>Fang took a deep breath as she paused in her story telling, "But how are they supposed to trust me, when I don't trust myself anymore?"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>So this is what it feels like to fly," Gaara said quietly.<strong>_

_**Fang nodded, still not believing that she was actually considering his offer to come live with him, "Yeah, it's complete freedom, but with boundaries. None of us are truly free…"**_

_**Gaara looked up at the moon, "That may be so, but at least we're trapped together." **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang looked up at her boyfriend, "I was wondering if that offer was still open…"<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The brunette clamped her hand over her own mouth to keep the scream that was bubbling in her throat at bay. The dream replayed behind her open eyes, burning into her memory and making her stomach turn with every second. Her shoulders shook as she fought for the control she had to have over herself. She couldn't let it affect her that much. She couldn't let Gaara find out about it. He already had too much to worry about. <strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Gaara wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her quickly as he kissed her forehead softly, whispering, "Be careful." <strong>_

_**She nodded, "I will be. Plus, I'm always careful." she added in a joking tone.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang looked up into the eyes of her sister as she allowed herself to be taken away. No qualms tampered with her decision as she walked with her head raised and her eyes calculating every move of the soldiers surrounding her. <strong>_

'_**Anything to protect you…' **_

_**A flare of discomfort passed through her as her thoughts turned to Gaara and how it was going to affect him. She took a deep breath and took her first steps onto the craft.**_

'_**I have to keep my promise.' **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Another fist drove itself into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her. "Are you going to talk now, L'Cie?" the man hissed through gritted teeth.<strong>_

_**Fang straightened up and took a deep breath, not allowing the pain to show on her face, "I will die before I tell you a damn thing."**_

_**A foreign hand pulled back and smacked her across the face, causing a stinging red mark to appear. The brunette only smirked and looked back over to her interrogator, "You hit like a girl. You need to follow through more or else you're going to continue giving off the impression that you're the bitch."**_

_**Another series of hits was her reward for her snide remark, but even through the pain Fang felt a pang of self-righteousness knowing that she had gotten under his skin.**_

_**It went on for days. In the end the man gave up and decided to let someone else try to break her.**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Vanille's cries of pain pierced her ears, causing her blood to turn cold as she fell deeper into her mind. Images of blood stained walls erupted around her as the illusion began to take her over. The screams were becoming a knife that continued to stab into her heart, causing her to cry out on the inside. <strong>_

_**On the outside, it seemed like nothing was happening.**_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>We need to get out of here. Come on Gaara," Fang tried to reason with her partially transformed boyfriend. Before she had a chance to say anything else coils of liquid diamond wrapped around her torso and pulled her back, a door sealing her inside a chamber. The substance tightened as a needle was plunged into her chest and the syringe was emptied into her body, causing everything inside of her to catch on fire.<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang glared over at her supposed best friend, standing guard in front of her incapacitated boyfriend. Protectiveness flared through her as her eyes burned, "Vanille, get them back to Konoha. Naruto and I will head up once Gaara is up to it."<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>All rational thought was gone from her mind. She could feel herself slowly let go of the control she had. Only thoughts of pain and suffering ran through her.<strong>_

_**Hatred and power spiked her blood as she felt the magic release around her, blood mixing with the crystal as it weaved in and out of her captives. The other part of her was itching to be freed, to let them feel the pain that they had caused, but she kept it in check. She refused to jeopardize the safety of the two with her. The first gate of Perdition rose as she summoned it. **_

"_**See you in Hell," she said maliciously as the fog and blue and red encased the crystal as it plunged down, taking the men with it. **_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Her eyes widened as her jaw slackened, her fingers lightly running over the slowly reforming mark, 'No, no, no, no! This can't be happening!' Her hands shook as her head spun, 'How is that possible? It was burned off…'<strong>_

_**Fang's eyes widened as she recalled the serum that was injected into her body.**_

_**It was created by Dysely.**_

_**Dysely wanted Ragnarok.**_

_**He wouldn't be able to get that unless the Divine's counterpart was able to be released.**_

_**The brunette's face drained of all blood as the reality of the situation came crashing in. Her head started to spin again as she reached out and gripped the sink to keep from falling.**_

'_**Ragnarok is coming back…'**_


	14. The Irrationality of Reality

*Chapter Fourteen. The Irrationality of Reality*

Fang sighed and closed her eyes. "And that's what landed me here. See what I mean when I said I seriously messed up?"

The brunette almost looked expectantly to the grave as if waiting for an answer before she continued. "I tried to keep my promise to you, Mom, but I don't know if I can do that anymore while being near them. My family…" she took a deep breath. "It's grown. It's not just Vanille anymore. I have Snow, Hope, Lightning, and even Sazh." Fang shook her head, "I shouldn't have even gone that far, but no. I had to be stubborn and make even more connections. I went against my better judgment and I befriended even more people. And by this happening I'm hurting all of them, too." Her fingers twisted together as her teeth grazed her lip. "I'm hurting the one person I've ever managed to trust with everything."

She sat there in silence for a while before a dry laugh escaped her. "And to think, Teacher was always right," she said. The young woman flipped her hair out of her face and looked up at the sky. "The first day we met he told me that I had to sever my connections, but I had to be stubborn and refuse. I didn't want to hurt Vanille even more after all those years of keeping me out of trouble and taking care of me."

Her eyes narrowed. "If I would've done as he advised then we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with," she snarled. "If I broke away from her then I wouldn't have released Ragnarok and Oerba wouldn't be in shambles. I would've never gone to Cocoon or Konoha or Suna and all those people wouldn't be risk like they are now! Just because I was too selfish and tenacious to get think of them!"

Her hands clenched into fists, her muscles tensing up as guilt and anger bubbled up. "Sometimes I wish I was never born because of all the things I've done, what I'll do," she admitted. "Maybe if I wasn't you'd still be here with Vanille and the villagers, happy," she whispered. "There wouldn't be a War of Transgression or Ragnarok, Vanille would have her mother and friends…"

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "But that didn't happen. Vanille and I were, 'Blessed with the Beast,' and we're supposed to, "Bring forth the Divine and purify the worlds," and you know what? I've accepted that fact for years, because it doesn't matter what I do, I'm always going to be a demon. If Etros wouldn't have took pity on Cocoon and put us in stasis, then that world would have been cleansed. But this…I can't be near them while in this state…"

Her fist came up and she brought it down on her thigh. "I should've just listened to him and stayed away from everyone! I shouldn't care for people, I only end up hurting them or they end up getting used against me! I'm not worth getting killed over and I never will be! I give up on making ties with people I can't just-"

"Well I don't."

Fang's eyes opened when she was cut across and she quickly stood and turned to face the person behind her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her words sharp.

"What does it look like?" Gaara questioned back, his arms hanging down his sides.

The brunette glared at her boyfriend and turned her back to him. "Go away."

Gaara blinked at his girlfriend's back, but stayed where he was. "No."

A snarl passed through the brunette as she spun back around. "Why?" she snapped, walking closer to him. "Why won't you leave me alone? There's nothing I can do for you. I can't help you! All I do is cause more problems!"

"And I don't?" Gaara asked, stepping closer. "Fang, when will you see that we're not that different from each other?" the red-head shook his head slightly. "I was in your place not that long ago, but you helped me out of it."

"You're not a key to total destruction! You have a chance of redemption. I was damned from the day I was born!" she yelled.

"Fang-"

"No! don' ya dare, 'Fang,' me! I'm righ' and ya know it!" Fang yelled venomously, her accent beginning to creep back into her voice and causing Gaara to blink in shock.

"Tha' is my focus, my curse! 'Nille and I are s'pposed ta make the greates' sacrifice and bring forth the end of humanity! We don' getta choice, she's Devine while I'm Damned! The protecta of ligh' and the gatekeeper of Hell, tha's the only reason we're alive! It doesn' matter how far we run away, we'll bring nothin' but destruction!" Fang ranted loudly.

"I shoulda neva gotten involved, it was a mistake! Every single person tha' I befriended is now in danger cuz of me! Cuz in the end the only thang I can do is cause more pain an' sufferin'," the brunette closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she shook her head. "I ain't gonna jus' sit back an' watch as I ruin your life! The only option is ta go our separate ways and ta just forge-"

Gaara quickly reached up and placed his hands on her face gently. "Fang…Fang! Fang!" He tried to grab her attention but she just kept on shaking her head with her eyes shut tight. He tightened his hold slightly and held her face firmly in place. "Fang, look at me!"

The brunette struggled against his hold without much spirit before her movements stilled and she reluctantly opened her eyes. Gaara's breath caught in his throat when he saw the pain in her aquamarine eyes, and he lightly trailed his thumbs across her skin as he cupped her cheek. "Fang, I'm not going to leave you," he said. "You don't have to deal with this alone."

"No, no one can help me. I can't stay with ya, I'm only gonna make thangs worse! The best thang ya can do is forget abou' me-"

Gaara's hands tilted her head up and captured her lips in a deep kiss as he pulled her closer. Raw emotion poured out of both of them as their lips conveyed the words they didn't speak. When the need for oxygen became too much, Gaara pulled back, his breath mingling with Fang's as they both breathed heavily. "I loved you ever since I met you, Fang." Gaara said, lips brushing against hers with every word. "I don't care what you or anyone else says. I'm not going to leave. If you run, I'll follow after you, no matter how far," he said lightly stroking her jaw as he rested his forehead against hers. "Fang, you're the only thing that makes me feel human. I can't just act like this never happened," he spoke quietly, his eyes boring into hers. "I'd rather die than live without you."

The young woman shook her head again. "Don't say that!"

"Well I did, and I'm not taking it back."

Before he knew it the L'Cie started to struggle against his hold. "I hate you," she said quietly. "I hate you so much."

Even though she was saying the words, he could hear the emptiness of those words that were doing nothing to convince him. Her body was shaking, with fury or sadness he couldn't tell as he wrapped his arms around her. Her eyes looked up at him, a torn expression evident in her eyes as she placed her hands on his chest and tried to shove him away. Gaara only tightened his hold on her, refusing to budge at her struggles.

"I hate how you get under my skin! I should be able to break off ties without any problem, but then you go off saying things like that!" Fang vented, trying to wiggle free.

'_He can't, he can't possibly l-lov- like me like that.' _

Fang tried to twist out of his grip, her eyes squeezing shut as her mind started to flood with thoughts.

'_Is it really that hard to believe that he feels that w-'_

'_Oh course he doesn't! It's just a crush!'_

'_But even I can't argue how much he means to m-'_

'_I'm only a teenager, how would I love? The only person that really loves me is Vanille, period.'_

'_Then what do I feel toward him?'_

'_That's simple! I feel…I feel…' _

Her hands clenched to fists as she gritted her teeth, turning her head down to the ground as the cracks in the wall that was protecting her from hurt started to grow.

'_I love him…'_

Her movements stilled as she took a deep breath. "I hate what you do to me," she whispered. "I hate how much you mean to me." She rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers twisting into his shirt. "I hate how complicated you make my life, even more than it already was," she continued quietly, burying her face into his neck. "I hate how you make me realize the worst things at the most inconvenient times."

The brunette bit her lip, forcing down the urge to run away, because she was already in too deep. She could almost see the cracks delving deeper in that wall that protected her heart and herself after everything she had went through. "I hate that I love you," she whispered as the last crack divided the barrier and it crumbled down, leaving her feel unprotected.

Gaara's arms tightened around her. "I don't hate that I love you," he said softly. "It makes me feel like I have a reason to live. I want to hear you tell me that you love me and be afraid of it. I want you to trust me like I trust you. I want you to be able to come to me with your problems and to except my help like I did with yours. Fang, I love you, and I won't sit back and watch as you're in pain. I refuse to let you go through this alone, because you're not alone in this. Whatever has to do with you has to do with me now."

He lightly ran his hands up and down her back as she slowly relaxed against him. "I don't want to restrain you and make you feel trapped. I want you to feel alive. I want you to be able to open up and not be in fear of being hurt again. I would rather die than hurt you in any way, I refuse to be the reason you're suffering."

Fang buried her face in his neck, her arms coming up to circle around him as she calmed down.

Gaara couldn't help but to feel relieved once she had finally calmed down. Her body relaxed against him as he held her close. Gaara sighed softly, closing his eyes. "Why must you make everything so difficult?"

"Nothing in life is easy," she mumbled as she rested her head against his shoulder.

Despite the previous stressful situation, Gaara couldn't help but to smile slightly at Fang's answer as he gently kissed her head. "As difficult as you are, I'm going to be here next to you the whole time."


	15. Perverted Senseis and Late Night Kisses

*Chapter Fifteen. Of Perverted Sensei's and Late Night Kisses*

Gaara sighed softly, closing his eyes as the wind lightly rustled his hair. He opened his eyes, glancing back up at the night sky. He was alone on the roof, left to his ever-racing thoughts. The red-head was getting lost within his mind when he detected someone sitting down next to him. He turned his head and saw Fang sitting beside him, her face turned up to the stars.

She turned her head and looked back at him with a smile. "I just wanted to say good-night before I passed out," she said.

Gaara smiled back and her and kissed her cheek. "Good night, Fang."

The brunette smiled and leaned against him, a slight glint in her eye. "Only one kiss?"

Her boyfriend chuckled and kissed her temple lightly. "Is that better?"

"Hmm, to the right and down more," she answered.

Gaara smiled and kissed her nose, inwardly laughing when it scrunched up as she pulled away slightly. "Better?"

She pouted slightly and shook her head. "Just another inch lower and you'll be good."

He rolled his eyes lightly and pressed his lips to hers, which kissed back warmly. He watched as her eyes closed and his followed as they drew their kiss out for as long as they could before they had to pull away for air. He didn't have time to take a breath when he was pushed on his back. His eyes snapped open to see a mischievous looking Fang hovered over him, a playful glint in her eye. "What was that for, and what are you planning?"

A smirk spread across her lips. "You wanna find out?"

His eyebrow raised as he thought, not completely sure about the look Fang was shooting him. "I guess…?" In the blink of an eye Fang had pinned his arms to the roof and straddled his hips, her mouth pressing against his deeply. Gaara's eyes widened at the sudden contact and his lips being thoroughly kissed. "Fang…?"

"Hm?" she asked into the kiss, her body lowering onto his.

When Gaara felt her stomach brush against his and he pulled his lips away. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing you, which by the way is hard since you won't stop talking. So I'd suggest ya shut it and use your lips for something other than talking," she said as she kissed him again.

Gaara couldn't help but chuckle as he kissed her back, slowly relaxing as the soft kisses made warmth spread through him. His lips stilled when tentative fingers trailed down the inside of his arm, slowly caressing his skin with gently strokes. The red-head softly closed his eyes, ignoring the protests of Shukaku.

The brunette paused and pulled back, looking at him curiously. "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm not thinking about anything, I'm worried."

She sighed and lightly ran her hand through her hair. "You don't have to worry about me, Gaara. I thought we already went over that I'm not going to break."

"It's not you I'm worried about," he muttered, gesturing to his tattoo.

Fang blinked and nodded, understanding. "So I'm not allowed to kiss you?"

The Shukaku vessel eyed her with a slight smirk. "I didn't say that, now did I?" he stated more than asked as he pulled her down and kissed her deeply. Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist as he pressed closer, running a hand through her hair.

Fang smiled softly and pressed back, sliding her arms underneath his neck. She parted her lips and nipped his gently before playfully sucking on his lip. He parted his slightly, entwining his hand in her locks as she lightly traced his lip with her tongue before she shyly slid it into his mouth and closed her eyes.

Gaara closed his eyes, softly trailing his tongue over hers, receiving a soft moan in response. The sound urged him on as he gently twisted his tongue around hers and pulled her closer. Her appendage swirled around his as she captured it hotly, sucking deeply enough to earn a light groan from the shinobi. His hand traveled along her spine, feeling her muscles contract beneath his touch as she arched, her body pressing impossibly close to his.

Fang's own finger traced down his neck and behind his head, gripping his hair in her fingers. Her tongue swirled inside his mouth before she pulled away and grazed her teeth against his lip before she moved down and nibbled underneath his jaw.

A shiver raced down Gaara's spine as another soft groan escaped him, heat coiling inside of him. His girlfriend's devious lips journeyed to the side of his neck where they began to attack his skin, sucking and biting at his pulse point. His breath became more ragged with each swipe of her hot tongue. When she pulled away, he was both internally thankful for being able to get his bearings back and disappointed that the feeling was slowly leaving his body.

"Night, Gaara," she whispered through a smile as she quickly jumped off the roof, heading back inside for the night.

He smiled softly and sat up, gazing back up at the sky. "Maybe things will turn out after all…"

"Ne, that was quite interesting, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara blinked, turning toward the voice.

A silver-haired jounin was stood a little ways away from the house, his trade mark book in his hand. "You didn't strike me as someone to fraternize in public," Kakashi said, a smirk evident even though a mask covered half his face.

"I didn't mind," another said, stepping out from the trees. "The more research the better!"

Gaara repressed a grimace, knowing that the two perverted teachers had seen the couple's escapade and stood.

Jiraiya and Kakashi smirked slightly at each other, walking toward the house. "Not to pry, but you looked a little lost," the author said.

The red-head stopped, glancing over his shoulder. "That'd be because I was," he admitted.

Jiraiya smiled. "I can help you with that."

Apprehension passed over the young man as he internally sweat-dropped. "I'm not so sure…"

"Ma. Help is help, isn't it?"

The sand-nin sighed, nodding slightly.

The Jounin and the Sennin jumped onto the roof, walking over to him. Kakashi smiled and handed Gaara his book. The red-head glanced at the title and shook his head. "No thanks, I don-"

"You're going to need it."

"I don't think this," he held up the book, "is going to help."

"Of course it will. Now, how long have you two been together?" Jiraiya asked.

"…Seven months…"

"Hm, that's a bit late for starting to enter the romance phase in a relationship," Kakashi said. "Do you spend a lot of time together?"

"…" Gaara shifted slightly, not liking the idea of telling people about his personal life. "We try to, but it's not nearly as much as either of us would like."

The Konoha nin nodded his head. "That's understandable because of your position. How intimate are you?"

"…"

The older hentai chuckled. "That new to the game, huh? So I guess neither of you have talked about sex."

"No."

"Have your brother or sister tried to talk to you about it?"

Gaara blinked, dying a little inside as he pictured his siblings trying to explain what sex was. He shook his head, both to answer Jiraiya's question and to rid the image in his mind.

"Do you know what sex is?" the other asked.

"I've been a trained ninja since birth, Kakashi-san. Of course I know what it is," Gaara deadpanned.

"Okay, well then you're already more educated than Naruto was," the nin said with a chuckle. "And you know what condoms are?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how to put one on?"

"…Excuse me?" Gaara was really starting to regret accepting their advice.

"Apparently not, I suggest that you practice it a few times before you decide to head to the bedroom," Kakashi said, thoroughly enjoying making the younger nin as uncomfortable as he could.

"Okay, next part," Jiraiya interrupted. "Have you ever been aroused before?" He received no answer from the younger red-head and he smirked. "Do you know what an erection is?"

"I hang around Naruto and Sasuke, Jiraiya," Gaara said exasperatedly while he rubbed his forehead. _'Why oh why did I agree to this?' _

"Ever had one?"

The sand nin narrowed his eyes at the older pervert, earning a chuckle from Kakashi. "I don't think you're going to get an answer for that one, Jiraiya. Moving on, do you like kissing her?"

"What do you think, Kakashi-san?"

"He's got a point, we both heard their moans," the icha icha author said, smirking. "Ever want something more?"

"...Yes…" Gaara answered begrudgingly.

"But you don't want to do anything she doesn't want to, right?" The red-head nodded and he continued. "Then you can't be afraid to try something. If she doesn't like it, she'll tell you. Now every person has these spots that release hormones into the blood and cause pleasure. They're typically are found on the neck, shoulders, back, and stomach."

"Should I be writing this down?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, after a few tries you'll pretty much have them memorized. That's one of the things about relationships. You usually enjoy hearing the moans coming from their mouths and knowing that you're the one causing it." He smirked, eyeing the Kazekage's neck. "It seems that she's already found one of yours."

The unexpected comment caused Gaara to flush, a light coloring rising in his cheeks.

"You did seem to enjoy the treatment she gave you."

That light color quickly turned dark, spreading across his nose.

Kakashi snickered. "Something wrong?"

"Aside from the hickey the size of The Fire Country on your neck?" Jiraiya specified, causing the red-head to look away as he forced the blush down. "If you want to get rid of it, all you have to do is roll a circular object over it to help loosen the blood clot."

"Or you can just wear a mask…" Kakashi added, both Jiraiya and Gaara looking over at him. Their eyes focused on his mask as he smiled. "Iruka's a biter."

The other two blinked. "Okay, back to the spots," the oldest of them said, breaking the silence. "Since she was had no qualms about doing that to you, she probably won't mind you returning the favor. What you have to do is-"

"So now I'm taking assignments from perverts…What else could possibly happen today…?" Gaara grumbled.

Kakashi unluckily overheard his comment and smirked wickedly. The pervert opened his book to one of his favorite pages as he thrusted the book in the young man's face. "This is called the cowgirl position, as you can see the way her body is placed above his so that his thrusts can-"

"**NO."**

The perverts laughed and exchanged looks. "Well, I think that's good for now. Ja ne, Kazekage-sama," Kakashi said as they both disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

Gaara shook his head and plopped down. He buried his face in his hands, taking deep breaths, _'I think I may be scarred for life. How am I going to ever be able to look at Fang and not think about that?' _

* * *

><p>The next morning, Gaara walked down the stairs and almost walked right back up from the looks on everyone's face. Apparently L'Cie and ninjas were experts in finding hickys. The pure disbelief on Snow's to the perverted smirks on Sasuke and Naruto. Oh, and he couldn't forget the murderous one from Fang's best friend.<p>

But that was nothing compared to the reaction Fang got when she came down. She barely touched the bottom step when she was bombarded with various cat calls.

"So," Sasuke asked as Naruto wolf whistled, "how was the sex?"

Fang then proceeded to channel her embarrassment in chasing down the Uchiha and strangling him.


	16. Battle of the Boyfriend

*Chapter Sixteen. Battle of the Boyfriend*

The morning of their departure came up rapidly until it was finally the day that they were supposed to leave for the Village Hidden in the Sand. Gaara was waiting in the living room, leaning on the cane that Vanille had made him for his journey back home. He looked up when the sound of someone walking down the stairs caught his attention and he couldn't help but to smile at Fang as she stepped down, a pack secured on her back and her lance holstered in the belt that hung around the hips of her jeans. "Ready to go?"

Fang nodded, but before they could take so much as a step, Vanille came running out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around her sister. Soon the other L'Cie and ninjas joined them in the room, saying their farewells. Once Vanille stepped away from Fang, Lightning stepped up to her, her hands on her hips and her head tilted up to look at the slightly taller brunette. "You forgot."

Fang just blinked in confusion, her eyebrow raised. "What did I forget?"

A slight smirk crossed the pink-haired woman's lips. "Three years ago, when we split up into groups, you promised me that when we saw each other again we'd fight."

The brunette thought for a second and then snapped her fingers, her eyes alight with remembrance. "That's right," she said, a small smirk twitching her lips. "I guess we'll just have to make it a quick one then."

"Fang, you two need to ge-"

"Keep your pants on, Vanille, it won't take that long," Fang assured her sister as she took her pack off and headed for the door. "You coming, Sunshine?"

Lightning glowered at the nickname and followed after her comrade, shutting the door behind them as they left the house. Vanilla and Snow exchanged uneasy looks and started toward the door, the other L'Cie following close behind. "You might want to watch this too," Sazh said with a smirk. "When these two fight, they fight."

"I just hope that Lightning doesn't overdo it with the magic this time, that's basically an unfair advantage," Vanille said as they neared the woods.

"How is that an advantage if Fang can use it too?" Naruto asked as he and Sasuke followed, Gaara and Shikamaru close behind them. By this time, the full story on why Fang was captured was well known by all of the nins involved. It wasn't much discussed, but they got the basic outline on what L'Cie were and what they possessed, though the topic of Ragnarok was still kept a secret.

"Fang doesn't use magic unless if it comes out as reflex or if she's protecting someone," Vanille said, the other L'Cie grimacing slightly. "She'd never use it against her friend."

Gaara walked faster until he was in step with the curly-haired L'Cie. "Is there any reason why she doesn't?"

Vanilla looked over at him and nodded, leaning close so that she could whisper in his ear without everyone else overhearing them. "Yeah, she doesn't trust herself to use her magic without losing her control."

Gaara nodded in understanding and glanced around as Sazh snorted. "That girl doesn't need to use magic. She's the strongest and most stubborn fighter I've ever met, L'Cie or not.

"Remember what happened last time they fought. and Light got too carried away?" Snow asked Sazh, silencing him. "She may not need magic to win, but she's not invincible." The sounds of two people arguing met their ears as they entered a clearing in the woods, seeing an emotionless Lightning and a slightly irritated Fang.

"Then let's make this interesting, shall we?" the brunette said with a glare.

"And how do you propose we do that?" the older asked back, her arms crossing.

Fang smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "If I win, you have to keep your snide comments to yourself and your opinions on my boyfriend won't be expressed aloud with either of us in your presence. You also cannot talk to him about what you think behind my back, because I swear one day you're going to piss him off and I won't help you."

The pinkette thought for a moment before she smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Then if I win you stay here with us until the baby is born without any contact with him. You won't be allowed to visit the desert or send messages to him or anyone associated with him. During that time you'll take a break from your relationship and actually think about how badly it could turn out, and then you can decide by the end of that time if it's really worth it once the whole crush phase wears off."

By the end of Lightning's proposition, Gaara was glaring heatedly at the woman. Fang's relationship with him was none of her business!

"Deal," Fang said. "So how do you want to do this?"

"Hand-to-hand combat, weapon, magic, and elemental," Light said, a small smirk quirking her lips.

Vanille stepped forward, shaking her head at the unfairness. "That's not fair, Light, and you know it! Fang just got her elemental and she doesn't use magic. That gives you-"

"Fine."

Vanille blinked and looked at her sister in shock. "But Fang-"

"I said it's fine, Vanille," the brunette said.

Lightning nodded and backed away from Fang. "Five minutes to prepare yourself. Hand your weapons to someone to hold them."

Fang nodded and unholstered her lance, briskly walking to Gaara to hand it to him along with her own kunai. "Hold on to these for me. I'll tell you when I need them." Gaara tried to say something but she quickly shushed him. "Don't worry. She's already underestimated me," was all she said before she walked away, leaving a bemused red-head behind.

"So she refuses to use magic, and she doesn't really use her elemental?" he asked the L'Cie beside him, slight worry beginning to creep up inside of him.

"L'Cie don't develop them until they're sixteen, so she just got hers. I don't think she's even used it yet," Vanille answered softly. "Before the age of sixteen, a L'Cie can cast spells to summon elements to use, but once you come of age you don't need the spell for a certain element that corresponds with your nature. Snow's ice, Sazh's fire, Lightning is surprisingly an earth elemental, but her lightning technique is also as strong as it, and mine are wind and water."

"You have two?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

She nodded her head. "So does Fang. We have on from being L'Cie and the other is from Ragnarok," the mother-to-be thought for a moment before she looked over at her sister intently. "Our deities for Ragnarok are opposites, so I think it's safe to assume one of her elements is fire."

The red-head thought about his girlfriend's fierceness and passion that she possessed. "It'd fit her," he said, watching as the brunette rolled her shoulders. "And you have no idea what her other one is?"

The older shook her head. "I don't even think she knows it."

Both of them fell silent as the two in the clearing nodded their heads before they grabbed their shirts and pulled them off, leaving them in tank tops as they tossed them aside. With the shirts gone both of their marks were exposed, Fang's burnt one with the active symbol on her right arm and Lightning's black one on the center of her chest. Even though the brunette had removed her shirt to make maneuverability easier, she still kept on her necklaces and bracelets even though they were bound to get in the way.

"Ten minutes each for the hand-to-hand and weapons battles and we'll combine the magic and elemental into a fifteen minute one," Light said while Fang nodded in agreement. "Sazh, count us off and tell us when the battles switch."

Said man sighed, his chocobo tweeting excitedly from its place on his hair. "Alright," he said as he checked the watch around his wrist. "One…"

Lightning clenched her hands into fists and crouched down, her eyes boring into her opponent's.

"Two..."

Fang took a deep breath and closed her eyes, shielding herself from her friend's intense stare as her skin prickled in anticipation. She slid her right foot out and back, raising her left arm and bending it at the elbow in front of her chest while she bent her other arm and locked it above her hip. The brunette opened her eyes narrowly and focused her attention on her best friend, her jaw setting with determination. The pinkette opposite her watched with slight confusion, her eyes examining the stance without any recognition.

Shock ran through Vanille as she looked at her sister with wide eyes. _'There's no way…' _

"Three."

Both of them launched at the other, Lightning's fist coming out only to be deflected by Fang. The older L'Cie brought her other arm down in an arc, only to hit nothing but air as the younger darted to the side. Fang wasted no time in lashing out with her hands multiple times, hitting Light's exposed sides with sharp jabs. Lightning grimaced and jumped back, bringing her leg up and turning, clipping the brunette's shoulder when she dodged the majority of the attack.

The two of them backed away, assessing the other as the audience watched with rapt attention. Light started for the other, but ended up swerving to avoid a kick aimed at her chest. She brought her hands up and grabbed the limb, twisting it away.

Fang smirked and jumped up, turning her body to accommodate the forced motion and swung her free leg at Light, nailing her in the face and forcing her to let go. The brunette landed in a crouch and dug her feet into the ground, launching her body at her comrade while she was still stunned.

* * *

><p>"And here's where it gets interesting," Snow said as he leaned forward in anticipation. "It's good to watch someone else being the recipient of their blow," he continued as he tilted his head slightly. "I'm a little confused though. I've never seen Fang use this fighting style before."<p>

"You wouldn't, Fang hasn't used it in three years," Vanille said, causing Snow and a few others to turn from the fight and to focus on what she was saying. "It's Oerba's fighting style. The last time she used that was before the village fell into shambles," she explained quietly. "Fang refused to use it after that and she adopted Cocoon's fighting style."

"Why?" Hope asked nearly silently as to not be overheard by the other ninjas, not including Gaara.

Vanilla looked slightly uncomfortable as she glanced around at them. "She said that she didn't deserve to use the village's techniques when she was the reason it was destroyed."

The L'Cie fell silent and turned their attention back to the fight, leaving Gaara to contemplate the woman's words. "What's the style?" the red-head asked softly.

The woman smiled slightly. "The reason Fang is so good at getting under people's skin is because she knows how to find a weak spot. She's been skilled at that for as long as I can remember, which is why she was so successful at this technique. The key parts of it are finding and exploiting the weaknesses of the enemy, breaking though their defenses, and to incapacitate them. They attack in different ways depending on the person that they're fighting."

* * *

><p>Lightning didn't have a chance to dodge the attack as Fang struck, using the palm of her hand to knock into her jaw and snap her head back. She barely had time to blink when another hit was placed, only it was to the pressure point on her neck and her body froze. The brunette narrowed her eyes and continued to hit the points until she snapped her hand out, her fingers straight as they collided against Light's sternum. As soon as the fingers touched, they coiled into a fist and followed through, throwing the pinkette back into a tree, the force of it knocking the breath out of the older L'Cie.<p>

"Weapons!" Sazh yelled.

Light struggled to recover her breath as she looked to her sister, her gunblade being held out as she turned and ran to it, Fang running in the opposite direction. Both of them grabbed their weapons on turned, Lightning letting loose a few rubber bullets that Fang dodged as she ran forward. The pinkette swore softly and switched to sword mode, running at Fang head on.

"Don't kill each other!" Serah yelled.

"They won't," Snow reassured his girlfriend. "Fang's lance isn't in battle mode."

And true the blades on the ends were bent down as to not inflict maximum damage, but that didn't mean that she was going to go easy on her friend. The brunette smirked and twirled the lance, dancing around her comrade effortlessly as she blocked the sword attacks. She locked her lance around the other's wielding arm and forced it up, leaving her ribs unprotected. With a small smile she brought her leg up and swung around, knocking Lightning off balance long enough to spin around and bring her lance up, the force of the hit lifting her into the air.

Lightning's eyes narrowed and she flipped, charging back at the brunette and swung her gunblade, nicking the other's shoulder where blood began to flow down it slowly. At the first sight of blood the fight began to increase in tempo, the ferocity and strategy becoming even more intense as they exchanged blows.

Gaara could only watch in slight awe at the spectacle. From the way his girlfriend's body moved to the precision of her hits, even the way the lance looked like an extension of her body. He knew that she was strong and an accomplished fighter, but she was like a whole different person.

"Magic and elemental!"

Within a second of the announcement Lightning had thrown out her hand, pink energy throwing itself at Fang and knocking her down on her back. The older barely smirked as she muttered under her breath, the energy surrounding the brunette in a colored haze.

Fang pushed herself up onto her knees and stepped one of her legs up before she lifted her head. She glanced around at the magic that surrounded her as it formed a dense cloud, crackling lightning beginning to appear around her. The younger of the two looked up and promptly smirked as a bolt of lightning pierced through the cloud toward her.

The pinkette narrowed her eyes as the cloud became even denser, to the point that she couldn't see the teens outline. _'Why was she smirking?' _Then the cloud thinned and Fang was nowhere in sight. Lightning quickly slid into a defensive position, her eyes scanning the forest warily. _'How did she get out of that, it was spot on?' _She placed her hand up and it began glowing, flowers beginning to circle around her before they scattered into the wind and started searching for the other.

Fang watched with slight amusement from above before she closed her eyes and jumped down, landing in a soundless crouch behind her friend. A devious smile played on her lips as she placed her hands down on the ground, the earth slowly changing to a liquid form as it shot out and wrapped around the unsuspecting Guardian Corps officer.

Light blinked in shock as the substance encircled her tightly, pinning her hands down to her sides as it hardened around her. The gem-like material shined in the light, making the pinkette observe it with curiosity. "Crystal…?"

"My elemental," Fang said, righting herself. "Your back has always been a weak spot with you."

"That's why I usually asked you to guard it," Light said, internally smirking as the flowers started spinning around them in a whirlwind.

Fang glanced around as the petals of the flowers sharpened into points and she gripped her lance tightly. _'It's now or never,' _she thought as she spun it around and jammed it into the ground, forcing it to stay upright. Focusing her energy, she jumped up and precariously balanced on the end of the lance. Her hands moving up to her mouth with her index fingers touching and her left pinky crossed over her right, her middle two fingers were bent and her thumbs were pointed up as she closed her eyes. The petals began to shower down on her, but the second they went to contact her she jumped up into the air and flipped. The flowers stuck into the ground as she fell down, her hands grasping her staff in mid air as she flipped again and pulled it free. She opened her eyes as bright purple danced down her form as she landed in a crouch and slammed her lance down on the ground, the magic releasing in an explosion around her as it collided with Lightning, sending up a cloud of dust.

Once the debris settled, Fang stood silently and looked around, noticing a few tress were bent and twisted from the force of the attack, stunned silence hanging in the air. Everyone watched silently as she walked over to Lightning, the crystal releasing her once Sazh muttered softly, indicating that the fight was over. Once she was free, the pinkette staggered before Fang snaked her arm around her. "Take it easy, Sunshine. That attack was still pretty powerful even though I didn't do full power."

Light coughed and glared at her friend as she regained herself. "Since when do you use magic when it's not life threatening?"

Fang smiled and laughed. "Since I got tired of you always underestimating me since I only used it to increase speed and strength, and even then I didn't do that often. It gets old after a while being the only one of the group that doesn't use it to properly attack."

The older rolled her eyes and pulled free of the younger, holding her hand out. The brunette smiled at her and she too extended hers, grasping her friend's hand as Light smiled slightly. "Good fight. You've gotten stronger."

Fang smirked and pulled her comrade closer, using her other hand to ruffle her pink locks. "So have you, Sunshine."

The pinkette scowled. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

From behind the all of the L'Cie let out a laugh, even Sasuke and Gaara managed an amused look at the two best friends. Fang glanced back at them and smiled devilishly, releasing her companion. "Well then, Light, you know what this means don't you?" she said as she turned her back to the L'Cie and walked swiftly over to her boyfriend. "I guess I get to go back to Suna after all."

Gaara smiled slightly for a moment and then wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and leaning down to her ear. "You were going to go back with me even if you did lose." From behind them they could feel the daggers the pinkette was throwing at the red-head with her eyes, and it made the sand nin feel all the more amused. "I didn't know you could fight like that," he said quietly as a shadow of a smile crossed Fang's lips.

"I didn't, until someone made me realize that I have to trust myself to control it," she said, lightly kissing his cheek in a rare show of public affection.

Gaara squeezed her softly before he let her go and handed her a pack. "We should get going then."

Fang nodded and took it, sliding the strap over her shoulder as she quickly went to her sister and gave her a hug. "Call me and take care of yourself."

Vanilla smiled and squeezed her younger sister tightly. "I'll do that. Have a safe journey this time, please. I don't want to have to travel back to Cocoon to get you again."

"I will," Fang said with a laugh as she released her sister and moved to Snow, hitting him in the shoulder lightly with her fist. "I'll see you later, hater."

Snow wrapped his arm around her shoulder and ruffled her hair. "I'm sure you will," he mused as Hope and Serah came up to give her a hug. Both of them wished her a safe journey and to stay safe, which caused her to smile.

Sazh lifted his hand and waved slightly, not moving from his place. "Take care of yourself, kid."

The comment made the brunette roll her eyes as she lifted her hand in a mock salute. "Sir, yes sir," she remarked as she strode over to the last L'Cie and paused. Lightning looked at her calculatingly before she opened her arms and they hugged tightly. Fang closed her eyes and tilted her head down. "I want you to watch after them," she said whispered urgently. "I want you to make sure that they stay safe, and I'd like it if you'd stay in Konoha until the baby is born. When Vanille's in labor, I need you to call and tell me. I don't know if Dysely knows about the baby, and we can't risk it. We never know what he'll try to do."

The older nodded her head. "Don't worry, I'll keep her as safe as I would if it were Serah."

Fang relaxed slightly and pulled away. "And you stay safe, too. I'm not the only one that's known for getting into trouble."

Light rolled her eyes. "Go."

The brunette turned and started walking back to her boyfriend as he placed his cane out and leaned on it. A small stream of magic hit the cane and it buckled before it broke, sending the sand nin on his face.

Dead silence fell over them as Gaara lifted his head and glared at the L'Cie behind Fang. The brunette turned to look incredulously at her friend, her hand covering her mouth to keep her smile hidden and to force the laugh that threatened to surface. Honestly, she didn't know if she was more amused or disproving of what the nineteen year-old did.

Lightning Farron smiled and waved her hand. "Have a nice trip."A cloud of sand settled on top of the pinkette, forming a fist that promptly hit her upside the head and knocked her down.

That was all it took for the brunette to break, a laugh betraying her mouth as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and laughed harder than she had in years. The two of them were so ridiculous, always bickering about something and disagreeing with what the other thought. It was just too much for her to handle seriously. It also appeared to be too much for all of the others as their laughter reached her ears before they slowly started to calm down. Fang straightened up and snickered when she saw her boyfriend and best friend glaring at each other from their respectable places on the ground. "We'll be taking our leave before they start their own fight," she said as she continued her stride to her boyfriend and wrapped an arm around him and helped him up on his feet.

Vanilla giggled as she fixed the cane and handed it back to Gaara. "That should hold it. Have a safe journey you two."

Gaara took it and leaned against it, testing how steady it was. His eyes were still blazing slightly as he turned another glare at the pinkette. A tug at his hand pulled his eyes away to look at his girlfriend, she smiled slightly and took his hand in hers. "Let's go. You have paperwork you need to catch up on.

He grimaced. "Thanks for reminding me," he grumbled, causing her to snicker slightly. He took her hand in his and shouldered his bag. With one last wave, they turned and walked away toward Sunagakure.


	17. Kidnapping the Kazekage

*Chapter Seventeen. Kidnapping the Kazekage*

The Kazekage sighed internally, listening as the elders continued to drone on about the smaller affairs of the village. The end of October was nearing as the village was preparing for their annual autumn festival. "…and the shops are requesting-" The doors unexpectedly blasted open, sending a nin who was waiting outside into the room. The elders cried out in shock as a blur ran into the room.

"Gaara!"

The red-head calmly glanced up, his eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

The blur slowed in front of him and Fang grabbed his arm, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. "I'm stealing Gaara," she rambled off quickly. "We're leaving for Konoha. Baki will be covering for him-"

"You can't just take the Kazekage."

The brunette paused for a second and looked at the Elder, her eyebrow raising. "Oh, is that so?" she asked, releasing her boyfriend's arm. "Then enlighten me as to why I can't."

Gaara quickly noted the tone in his girlfriend's voice and he groaned internally. _'Don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything stupid. Don't do anything stupid…' _

"He's the leader of the village. He can't just leave without notice."

It was silent for a moment before Fang walked over to the table, placing her hands on the edge. "A leader who is, in fact, a person, is that correct?" she stated more than asked in a carefully controlled voice. "Not only that, but also is, in essential, your boss."

"We all report to the village-"

"But, he's the leader, you said that yourself. Were you lying?"

The Elder glanced around at the others, his jaw dropped. He searched for the words to say, but nothing came to mind as the brunette's eyes started to flash.

"What? I can't hear you."

"I-"

"Fang, stop," Gaara interrupted, knowing if this just kept going the short-tempered L'Cie was almost to her limit of control.

"No, I want to hear what this guy has to say. This man who sits here every day with you and these other Elders who believe that they have the right to talk like they do," she said, glaring at the man, leaning closer. "What right do you have to tell me what Gaara can and cannot do, because I can assure you he attends to his responsibilities more than you do. "

The brunette glowered at the man, her eyes burning into his. "He spends whole days and nights working to help this village to make it stronger and safer. Not once has he blatantly left his position and not have someone to adequately sort out the details until he got back. Not only that, but you talk as if he's your possession!"

Fang slammed her fist down, causing a few of the Elders to jump in surprise. "He if his own person, and he can make his own damn decisions! Heaven and Hell forbid if he takes three days off of his twenty-four/seven, three hundred-and-sixty-five days a year job to go to a family emergency!"

Gaara quickly yanked her back from the table and dragged her out the door, leaving a group of stunned associates in the meeting room. Once the door is closed, he released the seething woman, her eyes glaring daggers as she continuously cursed the men under her breath. The red-head shook his head as she calmed down enough to form words that weren't swears and threats. "How do you deal with those people?"

"Quietly," he said, curiosity creeping into him. "So what was the emergency?"

Fang blinked in confusion and then her eyes widened as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him down the hall. "Vanille's having her baby!"

Gaara blinked and ran after her, trying to pull off the robes as he was towed away. He managed to free his hand and throw the restricting clothing off while Fang ran off without him. He stumbled as he quickly ran after her, the L'Cie shedding her own hooded sweatshirt as she neared a window. "Come on!" she yelled, opening the glass barrier, her left hand placed over her mark as it glowed, producing a small red-orange crystal.

The red-head hastened to the window as she prepared to jump out. "Just don't damage the buildings."

A wolfish smile spread across her lips. "I wouldn't dream of it," she said innocently as she fell back, releasing the crystal in the air. "Bahamut!" she cried out as the black etchings suspended in the air and the sound of breaking glass emitted through the atmosphere, a great beast-like creature materializing from the ancient summoning as it swooped down and caught it's master.

Fang smiled and sat side-saddle as the Eidolon shot up, catching the red-head as he jumped from the window and without a second glance at the village, they took off in the direction of Konoha.

* * *

><p>"What room is she in?" Fang's voice reached them before the doors slammed open, revealing a very distressed looking brunette.<p>

"Room 102," Light said calmly as the L'Cie disappeared, leaving the other inhabitants in the room to look around with confusion and curiosity.

The brunette knocked on the door to room 102, her foot tapping and her hands on her hips. If Fang had ever been nervous in her life, it was nothing compared to the anxiety she was feeling now.

"They won't let you in," a voice said to the left of her, causing her to snap her head in that direction.

"What are you doing?" she asked in confusion, looking slightly disapprovingly at the smoke that now congregated in the hallway. "I thought it was illegal to smoke in public facilities."'

Shikamaru sighed, a slow stream of smoke passing through his lips. "It keeps me calm."

"Hm, maybe I should try it," Fang muttered, her leg starting to bounce up and down in anticipation.

"No," another said from behind her, a hand lightly resting on her shoulder. "Calm down, nothing bad is going to happen," Gaara said as he kneeded her tensed muscles softly. The woman didn't answer him as she chewed her lip lightly, waiting for the door to open so that she could see her sister and soon-to-be niece.

* * *

><p>After two hours of waiting the door finally opened, revealing a very tired looking doctor. He looked around at all of them and smiled slightly. "You can go see her now."<p>

Shikamaru and Fang didn't need to be told twice as they bolted into the room. Fang mildly noting that it must've been the fastest she'd ever seen the shadow nin move. He strode over to the hospital bed where Vanille laid, her bright green eyes looking at them with tired happiness as a clothed bundle was curled up on her chest. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, running a hand through her loose hair.

"Tired," she answered wearily. "Tired and happy," she said as the bundle moved, a small whimper coming from it as she sat up and held it securely. She lifted it up and smiled brightly at the leaf nin. "Ariyah, meet your daddy."

The teen took the baby carefully in his arms, a warm smile tugging on his lips as he looked at the newborn fondly. "Hi, Ariyah. Welcome to the world," he said as a small coo came from his child.

Vanilla looked up at them with love in her eyes before she turned her gaze toward her sister and smiled happily. "You came."

Fang smiled back and walked over, taking her sister's hand. "Of course I did. It's not every day I become an Aunt," she said, studying her sister's face. "You should get some sleep. It's been a productive day for you."

The older nodded her head. "I will, after you hold your niece," Vanille said stubbornly.

The brunette thought and nodded. "Alright, but then you need to rest. You and Shikamaru both. I think this is the longest he's gone without a nap." That earned her a giggle from her sister and a baleful glare from the shadow nin, but he couldn't deny that he was tired. He handed the baby over to Fang and sat down by his girlfriend's bed, taking her hand in his as they watched the other L'Cie.

Fang adjusted her arms and cradled the child softly, looking down at the baby with mild curiosity. The sleeping child wiggled slightly, its round face looking peaceful as it slept. Some brown hair covered its head, the wisps looking windswept and the child cuddled into her chest. She smiled down at the child and looked over at her sister. "You made a pretty cute kid, Vanille. I'll give you that."

Vanilla smiled. "She looks like you did when you were a baby," she said as her sister rocked gently.

Gaara blinked at them curiously and walked up behind his girlfriend, looking over her shoulder at the infant. The baby stirred and brought its hand up, lightly touching his girlfriend's cheek and patted it with wonder. He smiled slightly at the sight and glanced at his smiling girlfriend. Even he couldn't deny that the baby was cute.

'_So that's what Fang looked like when she was a baby.' _

Fang turned to look at him and she nudged his arms. "Lift your arms up," she ordered.

Gaara shot her a confused look as he did as he was told and she transferred the child into his arms. His eyes narrowed in concentration as Fang position his arms and whispered instructions until he had the child cradled in his arms. He shifted slightly, unsure of what to do as the baby started wiggling, and its hand rested against his chest. He looked over at Fang, and she smiled lightly back at him. He almost jumped when a warm hand touched his cheek, and he looked down to see the tiny arm outstretched toward him. The fingers ran against his skin, and the baby cooed happily. He couldn't help but to smile at the small sound, and he lightly rocked the baby.

'_Maybe everything will work out alright…' _

*The End*


End file.
